Trends in the Diversity of Pediatric Faculty: 2000 to 2020

Academic medicine diversity is important for addressing health disparities and training the next generation. A recent study highlighted the lack of diversity among pediatric trainees over time. However, trends in US pediatric faculty diversity have not been clearly illuminated. The aim of this study is to evaluate pediatric faculty diversity trends and compare racial/ethnic representation between pediatric faculty and the US population.

Repeat cross-sectional study of the Association of American Medical Colleges Faculty Roster of pediatric faculty from 2000 to 2020. Trends in sex, race, ethnicity, and rank were compared with the Cochran-Armitage test. Data on faculty race/ethnicity were compared with the general and child population by using US Census Bureau data.

Trends in underrepresented in medicine (URiM) faculty representation significantly increased at all ranks: professor (+3.5%, P < .0001), associate professor (+3.0%, P = .0001), and assistant professor (+2.5%, P = .0001). URiM male representation remained unchanged (P = .14), whereas significantly increased trends occurred in URiM female representation (+3.4%, P < .0001). African American/Black males significantly decreased representation at associate (-0.4%, P = .04) and assistant professor levels (-0.6%, P < .0001), and American Indian/Alaska Native males significantly decreased representation at the assistant professor rank (-0.1%, P < .0001). The percentage of URiM pediatric faculty representation was considerably lower compared with 2020 US overall and longitudinal child population representation.

The stagnation of URiM male representation and lack of faculty diversity reflective of the US population may have a critical impact on the ability to recruit/retain a diverse pediatric workforce and promote equitable care.