Untapped Resources: Attaining Equitable Representation for Women in IR

Area of Science:

• Medical specialty
• Interventional Radiology
• Academic Medicine

Background:

• Gender disparities persist in academic medicine leadership roles.
• The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting is a key platform for academic and professional advancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess gender diversity among invited coordinators at the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting (2015-2017).
• To compare the academic productivity of female interventional radiologists with that of invited male coordinators.

Main Methods:

• Gender stratification of faculty rosters for SIR Annual Scientific Meetings (2015-2017).
• Quantification of female representation in podium session coordination.
• Statistical comparison of H-index, publications, and authorship between genders (2012-2017).

Main Results:

• Women held a low percentage of coordinator positions (4.3%-13.7%) from 2015-2017.
• No female representation was observed in plenary session coordination.
• The academic productivity of top-quartile female interventional radiologists was statistically similar to invited male faculty.

Conclusions:

• Senior male interventional radiologists predominantly lead and coordinate SIR Annual Scientific Meeting sessions.
• Underrepresentation of women in leadership roles persists despite comparable academic achievements.