Let's Get Personal: Academic Office Displays and Gender

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Social science in medicine
• Academic medicine

Background:

• Gender disparities in academic medicine are documented, particularly concerning self-promotion behaviors.
• Office displays of personal and professional items can serve as a proxy for self-promotional strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential gender-based differences in self-promotion among academic physicians.
• To compare the display of professional versus personal items in the offices of male and female physicians.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted with faculty at a university hospital.
• Investigators objectively assessed the number of professional and personal items displayed in physicians' offices.
• Statistical analysis, including univariable and multivariable Poisson regression, was used to identify correlations.

Main Results:

• Forty-eight physicians participated across emergency medicine, surgery, and internal medicine.
• No significant difference was found in the display of professional items between male and female physicians after controlling for relevant factors.
• Women displayed significantly more personal items than men, even after controlling for specialty, generation, rank, and office characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Female physicians exhibit a higher rate of displaying personal items compared to their male counterparts.
• The observed difference in personal item display warrants further investigation into its underlying causes.
• These findings may offer insights into gender-based differences in academic promotion within medicine.