Neurological

Effects of Gender Inequalities in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine

Although medical professionals may hope that there are no glass ceilings in medicine, recent evidence shows that this is not the case. In academic institutions, women are underrepresented in faculty positions, making up only 41% of that workforce, although their number has been increasing since around 2019

Even when women find employment in academic medical centers, they do not always have the same opportunities for advancement. In fact, the results of one study concluded that doctors who identified themselves as women were promoted to associate or full professorships or chair positions less often than their counterparts who identified themselves as men. Despite the fact that this review spanned a 35-year period, no evidence of a reduction in this gap was found at any point in the study.2 However, more women were given employment opportunities over the same period.

This advancement gap serves to worsen wage inequality between the sexes, especially in the field of internal medicine (IM). Small employment differences have almost disappeared within the IM, as doctors are almost equally represented in the junior faculty positions spoken to get a clearer picture of the effects of gender on their medical and academic background.

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Systemic inequality

According to Victoria Bengualid, MD, ID specialist and director of an internist residency program in the Bronx, New York, there is an overarching compensation issue with IM. She notes the latest statistics that reflect:[ID] Specialists are generally very dissatisfied with the remuneration with a satisfaction rate of only 44% compared to specialists in other medical specialties.

If ID tends to have lower pay rates for either gender, she believes identifying as a woman could make the problem worse, as women have fewer opportunities to post. This has become abundantly clear in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, she says.

During this period of constant scientific discovery, many practicing ID specialists were able to take a break and publish articles to share their results and treatment recommendations. But according to Dr. Bengualid “we, the women in community settings, did not have the resources to care for patients, collect data and then write them down.” As a result, she believes the pandemic has “distorted existing inequalities to make them worse”.

Area of ​​fairness

Despite these challenges, Dr. Bengualid that most of her ID colleagues are women. She works in a hospital and realizes that until recently “our” [ID] Department was 100% female. “

Dr. Bengualid also reports that she never believed that her gender stopped her during her education or at any point in her career, despite the fact that the specialty was “very competitive” when she was pursuing an ID scholarship.

Now lifestyle factors, including “wanting a family,” Dr. Bengualid held procedural specialties like cardiology. She even suspects that similar considerations might explain why so many of her ID peers are women. But even looking at hiring and promotion equality in her field, she says ID is not immune to gender differences in terms of respect and consideration.

“Our head of [ID] is very respected, “she says,” but she is still treated to reflect her wife’s voice. I remember sitting in a conference with her and she made a suggestion, but no one answered. Five minutes later the guy next to her said the same thing and everyone in the meeting said it was a great idea. She quickly turned to him and said, ‘I’m glad you agree with me.’ “

In other words, says Dr. Bengualid, despite enjoying equal opportunities throughout her ID career, she still believes that as a woman, you have to assert yourself regularly and remind people of your accomplishments.

Undo progress

New research from Susan Clark Muntean, PhD, an associate professor of management at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has created new gender barriers for female faculties in science, technology, engineering, and math (STENGEL ).

Their study – a four-year ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation worth $ 1.1 million – is still ongoing, but the initial results are worrying. She and her co-researcher Sally Wasileski, PhD, already note that publications from female faculties have declined in 2020. Faculties that taught courses that required a laboratory faced additional challenges in completing their scholarship or classes. Female color faculties were confronted with the worsening problem of the ongoing racial justice movement, which often led them to take responsibility for additional student supervision.

Dr. Muntean believes that this newly expanded gender gap is directly related to “maternity status and persistent social norms that put much more pressure and strain on mothers than fathers to take on child-rearing and educational responsibilities for children.” She notes that during the COVID-19 lockdown, “Millions of women left the workforce or reduced their work significantly outside the home to take on homeschooling or virtual and online learning. Women in academia experienced the same decrease in productivity, manifested in decreased research productivity and fewer service functions, including leading and advancing their careers. Fathers [in academia] do not show the same negative impact on their productivity and careers. ”She concludes that“ this is estimated to have long-term negative effects on women’s careers as scientists and in academic leadership ”. But she still believes there is hope for the future.

One way to correct course

Current research suggests that certain policies could remove barriers to equality in academic and medical settings. One study suggests that “adding more women” [sic] the system is not enough ”4, which is reflected in the persistent salary and promotion gaps in view of the increasing number of female doctors in all areas of internal medicine.

Instead, new initiatives may be needed to address historical injustices. Suggestions include finding alumni and alumnae donations to target women in academic positions and encouraging chairholders to provide flexible funding to support women’s research productivity.4 In short, some financial investments can help Ensure future equality for women in internal medicine. With will and effort, Dr. Muntean that these changes should be possible.

References

  1. AAMC Declaration on Gender Equality. Association of American Medical Colleges. January 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  2. KP Richter, L. Clark, JA Wick et al. Doctors in academic medicine. N Engl J Med. 2020; 383 (22): 2148-2157. doi: 10.1056 / NEJMsa1916935
  3. Wang T, Douglas PS, Reza N. Gender Differences in Salary and Representation in Internal Medicine Academies in the United States. JAMA Intern Med. Published online July 12, 2021. doi: 10.1001 / jamainternmed.2021.3469
  4. Fulweiler RW, Davies SW, Biddle JF et al. Academy Reconstruction: Supporting Academic Mothers During COVID-19 and Beyond. PLoS Biol. 2021; 19 (3): e3001100. doi: 10.1371 / journal.pbio.3001100

This article originally appeared on Infectious Disease Advisor

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