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Women in Academic Pathology: Pathways to Department Chair
Mary F Lipscomb1, David N Bailey2, Lydia P Howell3
1Department of Pathology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Insights
Women in academic pathology face career barriers like heavy clinical work and lack of research support. Addressing these, alongside promoting family support and leadership opportunities, can advance women into department chair roles.
Area of Science:
- Medical Science
- Academic Pathology
- Leadership Studies
Background:
- The Association of Pathology Chairs reports 31% women chairs, below the 43% of women pathology faculty.
- Understanding barriers and facilitators for women's advancement is crucial for leadership diversity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify impediments and facilitators impacting women's career advancement to department chair positions in academic pathology.
- To inform strategies for increasing women's representation in pathology leadership.
Main Methods:
- Survey of women department chairs in American and Canadian academic pathology departments.
- Analysis of reported career impediments and facilitators.
Main Results:
- Heavy clinical loads and insufficient research time/resources were primary impediments.
- Gender bias was experienced by 89% of respondents and cited as an impediment by 31%.
- Supportive family, national meeting attendance, and leadership opportunities were key facilitators.
Conclusions:
- Supporting family life, providing research resources, and encouraging leadership roles are vital for advancing women in academic pathology.
- Addressing gender bias and clinical load are necessary to increase the percentage of women department chairs.
Abstract:
The Association of Pathology Chairs, an organization of American and Canadian academic pathology departments, has a record percent of women department chairs in its ranks (31%), although still not representative of the percent of women pathology faculty (43%). These women chairs were surveyed to determine what had impeded and what had facilitated their academic advancement before becoming chairs. The 2 most frequently identified impediments to their career advancement were heavy clinical loads and the lack of time, training, and/or funding to pursue research. Related to the second impediment, only one respondent became chair of a department which was in a top 25 National Institutes of Health-sponsored research medical school. Eighty-nine percent of respondents said that they had experienced gender bias during their careers in pathology, and 31% identified gender bias as an important impediment to advancement. The top facilitator of career advancement before becoming chairs was a supportive family. Strikingly, 98% of respondents have a spouse or partner, 75% have children, and 38% had children younger than 18 when becoming chairs. Additional top facilitators were opportunities to attend national meetings and opportunities to participate in leadership. Previous leadership experiences included directing a clinical service, a residency training program, and/or a medical student education program. These results suggest important ways to increase the success of women in academic pathology and increasing the percent of women department chairs, including supporting a family life and providing time, encouragement and resources for research, attending national meetings, and taking on departmental leadership positions.
