Women's Representation Among Members and Leaders of National Medical Specialty Societies

Abstract

PURPOSE: National medical specialty societies speak for their respective fields in policy debates, influence research, affect trainees' specialization decisions, provide career development opportunities, and confer awards and recognitions. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the gender demographics of society members and leaders. METHOD: In 2016, the Group on Women in Medicine and Science (of the Association of American Medical Colleges) sought to characterize the gender of members and leaders of specialty societies from 2000-2015. This report provides descriptive data, including how many of the responding societies (representing each of 30 major medical specialties) had substantial ( > 10%) increases in women's representation among leadership between the first and second halves of the study period. RESULTS: The average proportion of female full members in responding societies was 25.4% in 2005; 29.3% in 2015. The proportion of women serving as the highest-ranking elected leader between 2000-2015 in each specialty ranged from 0 to 37.5% (mean 15.8%). The mean proportion of women on governing boards ranged from 0 to 37.3% (mean of means, 18.8%) in 2000-07 and from 0 to 47.6% (mean of means, 25.2%) in 2008-2015. In 9 specialties, the mean percentage of women serving on governing boards increased by > 10% from the first to second half of the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Although many women are full members of specialty societies, women still constitute a minority of leaders. This report establishes a baseline from which to evaluate the effect of societies' efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion.