Experiences With Parental Leave Policies After Training in Otolaryngology-HNS: A Systematic Review

(1) Understand parental leave policies for North American otolaryngologists post-training. (2) Identify barriers to fully utilizing parental leave and the financial implications of doing so on women versus men.

Medline, Embase, and Web of Science.

Databases were queried for "pregnancy," "parental leave," and "compensation." Inclusion criteria specified otolaryngologists who took parental leave after training. Primary outcomes were to quantify the average length of leave and financial compensation, in addition to identifying common themes in experiences.

In all, 1458 studies were screened, with six in the final analysis comprising 1889 otolaryngologists (69.3% female). Surveys were administered across the United States (n = 5) and Canada in 1998, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2024. All studies reported that most respondents lacked knowledge regarding parental leave policies. Studies were focused on gender differences (n = 4) or family planning. Only three studies reported the average leave for female otolaryngologists, at 10.3, 11.5 weeks, and over 6 weeks. Those studies also reported increased impacts on female otolaryngologists' salaries compared to males due to parental leave. The 1998 study reported that female otolaryngologists earned $35,000 less than male colleagues due to factors such as significant differences in "childbearing experiences and" "increased family responsibilities."

Otolaryngology parental leave policies negatively impact women's financial compensation, but are difficult to understand due to limited data. Further investigation is warranted to identify the various policies and compensation models across practice settings, the financial and professional consequences of parental leave on women versus men, and the comparison of parental leave to other forms of medical leave.