Race and Ethnicity, Gender, and Promotion of Physicians in Academic Medicine

The ranks of academic physicians do not reflect the diversity of the US population. To create a diverse and effective medical workforce, it is important to know the extent to which gender, race and ethnicity, and the intersection of these factors are associated with career advancement.

To assess whether race and ethnicity and gender are associated with appointment to or promotion within academic medicine.

This cohort study used Association of American Medical Colleges data on graduates of all US MD-granting medical schools from 1979 to 2019 merged with faculty appointment data since 2000. Data for this study are based on a February 19, 2021, snapshot. The analysis was performed from March 8, 2021, to May 5, 2023.

Gender and race and ethnicity among physician graduates.

The main outcome was full-time faculty appointments and promotions to the ranks of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, full professor, and department chair. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the differences in likelihood of appointment and promotion for racial and ethnic minority men and women compared with White men.

The analytic sample included 673 573 graduates (mean [SD] age at graduation, 28.1 [3.2] years; 59.7% male; and 15.2% identifying as Asian, 6.1% as Black, and 69.6% as White). White men accounted for the largest subgroup of graduates (43.8%). Asian men, Asian women, Black women, and White women were more likely than White men to be appointed to entry-level positions. Among physicians graduating both before and after 2000, White men were more likely to be promoted to upper ranks compared with physicians of nearly every other combination of gender and race and ethnicity. Among physicians graduating prior to 2000, Black women were 55% less likely (HR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.41-0.49) to be promoted to associate professor (n = 131 457) and 41% less likely (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.51-0.69) to be promoted to full professor (n = 43 677) compared with White men. Conversely, Black men (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.03-1.61) were more likely to be appointed as department chair (n = 140 052) than White men.

These findings indicate that preferential promotion of White men within academic medicine continues to persist in the new millennium, with racially and ethnically diverse women experiencing greater underpromotion. To achieve a workforce that reflects the diversity of the US population, this study suggests that academic medicine needs to transform its culture and practices surrounding faculty appointments and promotions.