Fixing the system, not the women: an innovative approach to faculty advancement

Women in academic medicine are approaching parity without power. Although the number of women choosing careers in medicine has grown substantially over the last 35 years, there has not been a commensurate increase in the percentage of women in senior leadership positions. To redress this situation at the University of Illinois College of Medicine (UICM), the Faculty Academic Advancement Committee (FAAC) was established in January 2003. FAAC's long-term goals are to create an institution whose faculty, department leaders, and deans reflect the gender and ethnic profile of the college's student body and to enable excellence in research, teaching, and patient care while promoting work/life balance. Commissioned as a Dean's Committee, FAAC brings together a diverse group of faculty and academic professionals from inside and outside the college to learn, reflect, and act. FAAC has committed to increasing the percentage of tenured women faculty and advancing women into leadership positions by carrying out an ambitious evidence-based institutional transformation effort. FAAC's initiatives-data gathering, constituency building, department transformation, policy reform, and advocacy-have helped to create an enabling environment for change at UICM. This case study outlines the history, conceptual approach, structure, initiatives, and initial outcomes of FAAC's efforts.