INSIDE-OUT: Introduction of Speakers at IDWeek Events-Observing for Unconscious Bias Over Time.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Professional Development
• Health Equity

Background:

• Specialty societies aim to reduce gender and racial inequities in professional advancement.
• Microaggressions, such as nonprofessional speaker introductions, are significant barriers.
• Previous assessments of these microaggressions at IDWeek were lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess disparities in speaker introductions at IDWeek over a 7-year period.
• To evaluate the impact of formal gender equity initiatives introduced in 2016.
• To identify patterns of race- and gender-based microaggressions in speaker introductions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of video-recorded speaker introductions from 2013-2019.
• Trained coders assessed nonprofessional introductions (failure to use professional title first).
• Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Fisher exact tests, trend tests, and logistic regression.

Main Results:

• Nonprofessional introductions decreased from 48.9% before 2016 to 41.5% after 2016 (P=.0013).
• Professional introductions increased with speaker age and were more common with White moderators and in women-speaker/men-moderator pairs.
• Increasing linear trend in professional introductions by age group (47.1% for <40 years to 65.3% for >60 years, P<.0001).

Conclusions:

• The study represents the largest assessment of microaggressions in speaker introductions at a national medical conference.
• Progress in standardizing equitable speaker introductions has been observed.
• Further standardization is needed, particularly for women and junior speakers, to address persistent inequities.