The report uses AAMC and external datasets to illustrate the pipeline of women in academic medicine and science. In combination, the data present a snapshot of women’s representation at key junctures in their roles as learners, faculty, and leaders.
The report reveals insights into the data through the lenses of the many structural, institutional, and cultural barriers to the advancement of marginalized groups in academic medicine.
This report updates the edition of the report published in 2020. This edition provides a more complete and holistic picture of the state of women in academic medicine. New data in this edition includes analysis for endowed leaders and professors by gender; decanal leaders by gender and race/ethnicity; and health system leaders by gender and race/ethnicity.
Key findings include the following:
- Significant Progress in Representation: The report highlights that as of 2023, women are the majority of applicants and graduates at U.S. medical schools, illustrating a continuing positive trend towards gender equity for future medical professionals.
- Women faculty have risen from 38% to 45% in the past decade: The report documents the sustained progress of gender equity over the past decade, with women PhDs in clinical science reaching 52%, surpassing their male colleagues.
- Increases in some Leadership Roles: The percentage of women in leadership roles has grown, with women now representing 27% of U.S. medical school deans, 34% of division chiefs and 45% of senior associate deans and, showcasing improved gender equity at some of the highest levels of academic medicine, although significant progress is still yet to be made with department chairs, at only 25% women.
- Challenges Remain in Pay Equity: Despite improvements, women continue to be paid less than men. Race/Ethnicity factors can contribute to reduced compensation for most faculty with MD degrees in clinical science departments. This underscores the ongoing need for policies and actions to address salary disparities.
- High Rates of Gender Harassment: Nearly one in three women reported experiencing gender harassment in academic medicine, highlighting the urgent need for cultural and systemic changes to create a safer and more inclusive environment. Notably, there are large differences in the rates of sexual harassment by specialty, with some specialties reporting over half of women experiencing sexual harassment, such as Anesthesiology and Emergency Medicine.
The AAMC is hosting an informational webinar to discuss the results of the report on Wednesday, July 24th, at 12 p.m. ET.