Eyeworld

T he representation of women in academic medicine continues to lag behind that of their male counter- parts in spite of the large num- ber of female physicians graduating from residencies. The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) has estimated that in 2005, women comprised 32% of all faculty positions, 11% of full professors, 11% of department chairs, and 10% of deans of medical schools across all spe- cialties. These statistics are sig- nificant considering that approximately 48% of medical school graduates were female in 2009. In ophthalmology, the AAMC reported in 2006 that approximately 39% of graduating residents were fe- male. 1 However, the represen- tation of women in the senior ranks of academic ophthal- mology is not commensurate with the number of female medical graduates. It appears that the number of women among the senior ranks of aca- demic medicine continues to lag behind their male counter- parts, without much improve- ment over time. We have looked for evi- dence of any correlation be- tween the gender of chairpersons/directors of ophthalmology residencies and the breakdown by gender of the faculty and residents. 2 Ophthalmol- ogy residency program directors across the country were invited to partic- ipate in this study. Information was collected about the baseline characteristics and gender distributions of the chairpersons, faculty, and residents of their respective programs. Our data did not show any correla- tion between the gender of female faculty and residents and that of the residency program director and chairperson. We did find that there was more female representation at the resident (45%) and faculty level (28%) compared to the chairperson representation (4%). We also found that the proportion of female faculty and residents was higher if the chair was also female. 2 Our results indicate a trend toward decreasing numbers of female representation among the more senior ranks of academic ophthalmology. This was not found to be statistically significant, likely secondary to the very low number of female chairpersons that were surveyed. Further- more, the number of women in more senior ranks in ophthalmology is lower than averages reported across all specialties by the AAMC. This should be of concern to ophthalmologists. The argument that the lower representation of women in ophthalmology is secondary to a "pipeline" problem is not tenable, given the large number of female graduates over recent decades. It is more likely that barriers to the entry of women pres- ent challenges for women to rise through the ranks of academic medi- EW Ophthalmology Business 53 Women in academic ophthalmology by Deepika N. Shah, M.D., M.P.H., and Joan O'Brien, M.D. cine. Organizational policies that are crucial for advancement may not always be favorable to a more equitable representation of women, who often have to juggle responsibilities to their families during those criti- cal early years when opportunities for professional advancement pres- ent themselves. This challenge, however, is not unique to ophthalmology and does not explain the troubling lack of senior lead- ership in our field. Institutional policies that are informed by issues unique to female ophthalmologists could help to correct the existing gender imbalance among academic ophthalmologists. Effective men- torship programs and the presence of inspirational role models might encourage more of our current generation of graduating female oph- thalmology residents to pursue academic medicine. Further study is in- dicated and is underway at our institution. This is necessary to ensure that the vital and talented group of potential female leaders in ophthal- mology are nurtured and have the opportunity to make important con- tributions to our field. References 1. AMA Frieda Online and Women in Medicine. Accessed June 17, 2011. www.ama- assn.org/vapp/freida/srch. 2. Shah D.N. et al. Gender Characteristics Among Academic Ophthalmology Leadership, Faculty and Residents: Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey. Ophthalmic Epidemiology. 17(1), 1-6, 2010. Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia August 2011

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