Representation of Women at Select Academic Ophthalmology Institutions in the United States

Authors

Hazem M Mousa, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Camryn Thompson, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Sri Meghana Konda, Department of Ophthalmology, Mass Eye and Ear, Boston, MA
Keke Liu, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Jay Rathinavelu, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Terry Lee, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Katherine Peters, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Kevin J. Jackson, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Laura Enyedi, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Pratap Challa, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow
Sharon Fekrat, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NCFollow

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the representation of women among ophthalmology faculty members at select academic institutions in the United States (US).

Design: Cross-sectional study

Subjects: Clinical faculty members at the top 20 academic ophthalmology institutions in the U.S. according to US News and World Report ranking

Methods: Gender as reported on institutional websites either directly or via pronouns, academic rank, medical school graduation year, and subspecialty were collected about clinical faculty members with MD, MD/PhD, MBBS or DO from their respective institutional websites. The number of publications for each faculty member was collected using Scopus ® (Elsevier, Netherlands). One way z-test was used to compare proportions, and an independent t-test was used to compare means.

Main Outcome Measures: Gender proportions across data points described in the Methods.

Results: Women comprised 416 (38%) of the 1099 ophthalmology faculty members reviewed (z-statistic: -0.43, p

Conclusion: There remain more men than women at some of the top academic ophthalmology institutions in the US and significantly fewer women at the full professor rank. This gap in representation appears to be narrowing over time. Additional efforts to reduce the challenges faced by women in academic ophthalmology may narrow this gap further.

Received Date

11-Jul-2024

Accepted Date

23-Aug-2024

Recommended Citation

Mousa, Hazem M; Thompson, Camryn; Konda, Sri Meghana; Liu, Keke; Rathinavelu, Jay; Lee, Terry; Peters, Katherine; Jackson, Kevin J.; Enyedi, Laura; Challa, Pratap; and Fekrat, Sharon (2024) "Representation of Women at Select Academic Ophthalmology Institutions in the United States," Journal of Academic Ophthalmology: Vol. 16: Iss. 1, Article 16.
Available at: https://www.aupojournal.org/jao/vol16/iss1/16