Project description:ObjectivesDespite greater access to training positions and the presence of more women in emergency medicine, it has remained a men-dominated field. This study aims to identify the key issues causing the gender gap in Korea and establish measures to overcome them.MethodsUsing the annual statistical reports of the National Emergency Medical Center and data published on the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine website, cases that listed the current status and positions of members in its organization and its committees were analyzed. Secondary analysis was conducted using data from the 2015 Korean Society of Emergency Survey that included physicians' demographics, academic ranking, years of experience, clinical work hours, training and board certification, core faculty status, position, and salaries.ResultsAs of September 2019, women account for only 12.7% of the total number of emergency physicians (EP) in Korea; of 119 chair/ vice-chair academic positions, women represented only 9.2%. Women EP were more often assistant professors and fellowship-trained, with fewer in core faculty. However, they worked the same numbers of clinical hours as their men counterparts. The median annual salary of women EP was less than that of men EP after adjusting for academic hospital rank, clinical hours, and core faculty status.ConclusionsA gender gap still exists among Korean EP, and women earn less than men regardless of their rank, clinical hours, or training. Future studies should evaluate more data and develop system-wide practices to eliminate gender disparities.
Project description:Background: Gender bias has been an ongoing issue in health care, examples being underrepresentation of women in health studies, trivialization of women's physical complaints, and discrimination in the awarding of research grants. We examine here a different issue-gender disparity when it comes to the allocation of research funding among diseases. Materials and Methods: We perform an analysis of funding by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ascertain possible gender disparity in its allocation of funds across diseases. We normalize funding level to disease burden, as measured by the Disability Adjusted Life Year, and we specifically consider diseases for which both disease burden and funding level are provided. We apply a power-law regression analysis to model funding commensurate with disease burden. Results: We find that in nearly three-quarters of the cases where a disease afflicts primarily one gender, the funding pattern favors males, in that either the disease affects more women and is underfunded (with respect to burden), or the disease affects more men and is overfunded. Moreover, the disparity between actual funding and that which is commensurate with burden is nearly twice as large for diseases that favor males versus those that favor females. A chi-square test yields a p-value of 0.015, suggesting that our conclusions are representative of the full NIH disease portfolio. Conclusions: NIH applies a disproportionate share of its resources to diseases that affect primarily men, at the expense of those that affect primarily women.
Project description:Abstract Substantial gender equity gaps in postsecondary degree completion persist within many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and these disparities have not narrowed during the 21st century. Various explanations of this phenomenon have been offered; one possibility that has received limited attention is that the sparse representation of women itself has adverse effects on the academic achievement—and ultimately the persistence and graduation—of women who take STEM courses. This study explored the relationship between two forms of gender representation (i.e., the proportion of female students within a course and the presence of a female instructor) and grades within a sample of 11,958 STEM‐interested undergraduates enrolled in 8686 different STEM courses at 20 colleges and universities. Female student representation within a course predicted greater academic achievement in STEM for all students, and these findings were generally stronger among female students than male students. Female students also consistently benefitted more than male students from having a female STEM instructor. These findings were largely similar across a range of student and course characteristics and were robust to different analytic approaches; a notable exception was that female student representation had particularly favorable outcomes for female students (relative to male students) within mathematics/statistics and computer science courses.
Project description:ObjectiveGaps in gender-based equity persist in academic otolaryngology. Here we present a needs-based assessment of otolaryngology faculty and trainees regarding facilitators and barriers to professional satisfaction and career development in academic medicine.MethodsA qualitative study of otolaryngology faculty, trainees, and administrators who identify as women at an academic tertiary care center was performed from 2020 to 2021 using focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Five confidential, virtual focus group sessions moderated by a third-party executive coach were audio-taped, transcribed, and reviewed for thematic content.ResultsOf 48 women invited, 77% participated (18 faculty/administrative leaders, 10 residents/fellows, 4 audiologists). Participants noted direct patient care, support from colleagues who identify as women, and the transition to virtual meetings as facilitators of current professional satisfaction. Five themes emerged as barriers to workplace satisfaction and career development including (1) limited professional schedule flexibility, (2) competing commitments such as childcare exacerbated by pandemic, (3) lack of visible departmental leadership who identify as women, (4) perceived lack of organic sponsorship within subspecialty divisions, and (5) frequent identity-associated microaggressions from patients and staff outside the department. Strategies identified for improving gender-based equity included (1) promoting department-wide awareness of workplace gender-based differences, (2) implicit bias training within established programming such as grand rounds conferences, and (3) novel faculty programming such as leadership development training and formal junior faculty mentorship.ConclusionConfidential needs-based assessment of otolaryngology faculty and trainees identified both persistent gaps and strategies to enhance recruitment, support career development, and grow professional satisfaction of women within academic otolaryngology.Level of evidence3.
Project description:We sought to determine whether instructional practices used by undergraduate faculty in the geosciences have shifted from traditional teacher-centered lecture toward student-engaged teaching practices and to evaluate whether the national professional development program On the Cutting Edge (hereinafter Cutting Edge) has been a contributing factor in this change. We surveyed geoscience faculty across the United States in 2004, 2009, and 2012 and asked about teaching practices as well as levels of engagement in education research, scientific research, and professional development related to teaching. We tested these self-reported survey results with direct observations of teaching using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol, and we conducted interviews to understand what aspects of Cutting Edge have supported change. Survey data show that teaching strategies involving active learning have become more common, that these practices are concentrated in faculty who invest in learning about teaching, and that faculty investment in learning about teaching has increased. Regression analysis shows that, after controlling for other key influences, faculty who have participated in Cutting Edge programs and who regularly use resources on the Cutting Edge website are statistically more likely to use active learning teaching strategies. Cutting Edge participants also report that learning about teaching, the availability of teaching resources, and interactions with peers have supported changes in their teaching practice. Our data suggest that even one-time participation in a workshop with peers can lead to improved teaching by supporting a combination of affective and cognitive learning outcomes.
Project description:Previous research has shown that woman-headed households, more than man-headed ones, experience food insecurity. The purpose of this article is to contribute on the determinants that are linked to this gender disparity. Using a nationally representative dataset from Chile, we found that food security household head gender disparity is associated with marital status (having or not a partner) and household composition (having children or seniors). In contrast, gender disparity is not strongly associated with household income and household head educational differences. In this way, we expect to bring evidence to inform new alternatives that help mitigate food security gender disparity.
Project description:This paper examines gender variation in departures from the tenure-track science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) academic career pathway to non-tenure-track academic careers. We integrate multiple data sources including the Survey of Earned Doctorates and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients to examine longitudinal career outcomes of STEM doctorate women. We consider three types of careers after receipt of a PhD: academic, academic non-tenure-track, and non-academic positions. We find that STEM women are more likely to hold academic non-tenure-track positions, which are associated with lower job satisfaction and lower salaries among men and women. Explanations including differences in field of study, preparation in graduate school, and family structure only explain 35 percent of the gender gap in non-tenure-track academic positions.
Project description:The genesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is closely related to hyper-activated Ras signals and male factors. This study aimed to characterize the underlying mechanisms by examining the transcriptome of Hras12V transgenic mice (Ras-Tg, HCC model). A transcriptomic database was established via RNA-Seq of HCC (T) and the adjacent precancerous liver tissue (P) of Ras-Tg and the normal liver tissue of wild-type mice (W) of both sexes. Bioinformatics analysis as well as metabolite and gene expression assays were performed. Totally, 2708 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out (FC ≥ 2 and q < 0.05). Longitudinal comparative analysis within W, P, and T and correlation expression pattern analysis revealed common/unique cluster-enriched items towards HCC between the sexes. Specifically, the numbers of DEGs were much higher in females than in males, and tumor suppressor genes, such as p21Waf1/Cip1 and C6, were significantly higher in the female P. This finding denotes the higher sensitivity of female hepatocytes to the Ras oncogene and, therefore, the difficulty in developing HCC. Moreover, convergence in HCC between the sexes suggests the underlying mechanisms for ineffectiveness of sex hormone therapies. Additionally, expression pattern analysis revealed that the DEGs and their relevant pathways were either positively or negatively associated with the HCC/Ras oncogene. Among them, the vital role of glutathione metabolism in HCC was established. The systemic transcriptomic database of the Ras oncogene-induced HCC with sex disparities provides valuable clues for elucidating the underlying mechanisms, selecting the diagnostic biomarker, and planning the clinical therapy in HCC.
Project description:Collaboration plays an increasingly important role in promoting research productivity and impact. What remains unclear is whether female and male researchers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) disciplines differ in their collaboration propensity. Here, we report on an empirical analysis of the complete publication records of 3,980 faculty members in six STEM disciplines at select U.S. research universities. We find that female faculty have significantly fewer distinct co-authors over their careers than males, but that this difference can be fully accounted for by females' lower publication rate and shorter career lengths. Next, we find that female scientists have a lower probability of repeating previous co-authors than males, an intriguing result because prior research shows that teams involving new collaborations produce work with higher impact. Finally, we find evidence for gender segregation in some sub-disciplines in molecular biology, in particular in genomics where we find female faculty to be clearly under-represented.