A recent study reveals that white men continue to be preferentially promoted within academic medicine, maintaining dominance in the field.
A cohort study conducted by the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City investigated the impact of race, ethnicity, and gender on appointments and promotions within academic medicine. The study analyzed a sample of 673,573 graduates from U.S. M.D.-granting medical schools and found that compared to White men, Asian men, Asian women, Black women, and White women were more likely to be appointed to entry-level positions, Health Day reports.
The study found that, compared to physicians of nearly every other gender and racial or ethnic group, White men were more likely to be promoted to higher ranks, both among physicians graduating before and after 2000. Specifically, Black women were less likely than White men to be promoted to associate professor or full professor among physicians who graduated before 2000. In contrast, Black men were more likely than White men to be appointed department chair.
Black women were 55% less likely to be promoted to associate professor and 41% less likely to be promoted to full professor than White men. The findings suggest that while women and racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely than White men to enter academic medicine, they are, with few exceptions, less likely to be promoted to higher ranks.
“To achieve a workforce that reflects the diversity of the U.S. population, academic medicine must transform its culture and the practices surrounding faculty appointments and promotions,” researchers wrote.
Overall, the preferential promotion of White men within academic medicine remains prevalent in modern medicine, with racially and ethnically diverse women facing greater underpromotion. The study suggests that academic medicine must overhaul its culture and practices related to faculty appointments and promotions to create a workforce that reflects the diversity of the U.S. population.
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