Wondering if I’d Get There Quicker if I Was a Man: Factors Contributing to Delayed Academic Advancement of Women in Infectious Diseases


 
 
 Gender inequities in academic advancement persist in many specialties, including infectious diseases (ID). Prior studies of advancement disparities have been predominantly quantitative, utilizing large physician databases or surveys. We used qualitative methods to explore ID physicians’ experiences and beliefs about causes and ways to mitigate gender inequities in advancement.
 
 
 
 We conducted semi-structured focus group discussions with academic ID physicians in the US at IDWeek 2019 to explore perceived barriers and facilitators to academic advancement. Participants were assigned to focus groups based on their academic rank and gender. We analyzed focus group transcripts using content analysis to summarize emergent themes.
 
 
 
 We convened 3 women-only focus groups (one for instructors/assistant professors, one for associate professors and one for full professors) and one men-only focus group of full professors (total N = 50). Our analyses identified several major themes on barriers to equitable academic advancement, including (1) interpersonal and institutional gender bias, (2) difficulty balancing the demands of family life with work life, and (3) gender differences in negotiation strategies.
 
 
 
 Barriers to gender equity in academic advancement are myriad and enduring and span the professional and personal lives of ID physicians. In addition to swift enactment of policy changes directed at critical issues like ending workplace harassment and ensuring adequate parental leaves for birth and non-birth parents, leaders in academic medicine must shine a bright light on biases within the system at large and within themselves to correct these disparities with the urgency required.
