Examining Gender Disparity in Academic Abdominal Radiology in North America

Female representation in radiology subspecialty interest groups in Australia and New Zealand

INTRODUCTION

Women comprise 31% of the Australian and New Zealand radiology workforce, and 35% of radiology trainees. To date, there has been no study of female representation within clinical radiology subspecialties in Australia and New Zealand. This study aims to quantify female representation among the clinical radiology subspecialty interest groups (SIGs) in Australia and New Zealand.

METHODS

A list of SIGs was compiled using the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) website. The executive of each SIG or the RANZCR Standards committee was contacted with a request to provide the number of female versus male members for each subspecialty group and their executive.

RESULTS

Six out of 10 SIGs reported a low proportion of female members; this was most pronounced for IRSA (interventional radiology; 7% women), AMSIG (musculoskeletal imaging; 13% women) and CCINR (interventional neuroradiology; 13% women). Female radiologists accounted for >50% of membership in four SIGs: OGSIG (obstetrics/gynaecology imaging; 87% women), BIG (breast imaging; 73% women), ARGANZ (abdominal imaging; 69% women) and ANZSTR (thoracic imaging; 69% women). Female executive representation ranged from 0% (IRSA (interventional radiology) and ANZSNR (neuroradiology)) to 100% (OGSIG (obstetrics/gynaecology imaging)).

CONCLUSION

Female representation within the membership and representative leadership of some SIGs is well below parity and active initiatives to improve female representation should be considered.

Gender of Department Chair and Paid Parental Leave Benefits in Academic Radiology Residency Programs

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Residency training often overlaps with prime childbearing years, yet variability in availability and duration of parental leave in residency can complicate the decision to become parents. Gender disparities in attitudes towards parenthood in residency is well recognized, with females generally reporting more concerns surrounding prolonged training, hindrance of future career plans, and negative perception from peers. However, gender of the department chair has not yet been examined as a factor influencing parental leave policies for residents in Radiology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The gender of the department chair and parental leave policies for residents in 209 ACGME accredited diagnostic radiology programs across the United States were procured from their websites. These programs were stratified into 6 geographical regions to identify regional differences. Chi-squared analyses were used to compare availability of paid parental benefits with the gender of department chairs.

RESULTS

Seventy-seven percent of diagnostic radiology program department chairs were male. 34 of 49 programs (69%) with female department chairs advertised paid parental benefits, compared to 61 of 160 programs (38%) chaired by males (P < 0.001). When stratified by region, this gender difference remained statistically significant in the mid-Atlantic and New England.

CONCLUSION

Female gender of the department chair was associated with the increased availability of paid parental leave benefits for residents, yet females hold fewer academic leadership positions than males. Future discussions regarding parental leave policies for residents will have to consider the unique challenges in residency such as length of training and burden on coresidents.

Is Empowerment of Female Radiologists Still Needed? Findings of a Systematic Review

Considering that radiology is still a male-dominated specialty in which men make up more than two thirds of the workforce, this systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the current role of women in radiological imaging, focusing on the main aspects such as career progression, leadership, academic practice, and perceived discrimination. Three electronic databases were searched up to 21 October 2020. To identify additional records, weekly automatic email alerts were set up on PubMed until December 2020 and reference lists of key studies and included papers were screened. Two reviewers independently performed the search, study selection, quality appraisal, data extraction, and formal narrative synthesis. In case of disagreement, a third reviewer was involved. Across the 61 included articles, women worked more often part-time and held fewer positions of power in hospitals, on editorial boards, and at the academic level (associate and full professors). Women were less often in relevant positions in scientific articles, had fewer publications, and had a lower H-index. Discrimination and sexual harassment were experienced by up to 40% and 47% of female radiologists, respectively. Our study highlights that women in radiology are still underrepresented and play a marginal role in the field, struggling to reach top and leading positions.