Sex differences in rank attainment among radiology and internal medicine faculty

Overall, the percentage of women attaining the ranks of associate professor and professor remains well below the percentage of men in those ranks. Few studies of women in academic medicine have been conducted that might guide the leaders of medical schools and specialty societies in addressing the reasons for this disparity. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Faculty Roster System allows comparison of a cohort of faculty at any selected time following their first faculty appointments. This study examined men and women faculty who received their first appointments in the departments of radiology and internal medicine in 1976 and who were still active in 1986. Disparities between men and women in rank attained were apparent in both specialties but were greater in radiology than in internal medicine. Other variables examined include ethnic-racial self-description and teaching, research, patient care, and administrative responsibilities. The authors pose additional research questions requiring information that the Faculty Roster System is not designed to provide.