Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Representation Among US Neurology Faculty From 1972 to 2021
Chia-Chen Tsai1, Chen Hu5, Jeffrey Ding1, Esther Bui6, Aleksandra Pikula6, Thalia Field2, Sabeen Tiwana3, Javed Siddiqi7, Faisal Khosa4
1Faculty of Medicine, 2Division of Neurology, 3Faculty of Dentistry, 4Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, 5School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 6Division of Neurology, Toronto Western Hospital, 7Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Objective:

To examine gender, racial, and ethnic representation trends among US academic neurology faculty between 1972-2021.

Background:

Prior research suggests disparities in gender, racial, and ethnic representation in the US academic neurology workforce, but this has not been longitudinally evaluated over decades.

Design/Methods:

Gender, racial, and ethnic data were extracted from Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) US Medical School Faculty annual reports (1972-2021) of active full-time neurology department faculty. Gender, racial, and ethnic trends among US neurologists were examined by academic rank (1972-2021) and department chair status (1977-2021) using multivariable linear regression. Subgroup differences were evaluated by analysis of variance and pairwise t-test. Multiple comparisons were conducted by Tukey’s honestly significant difference.

Results:

From 1972 to 2021, there was an increase in the proportion of women (32.9%), American Indian or Alaska Natives (0.1%), Asian (16.3%), Black (1.4%), Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders (0.1%), and Hispanic (0.4%) US academic neurologists. Annually, the prevalence of women neurologists increased by 0.71% [95%CI: 0.66-0.76%; P<0.0001], Asian by 0.35% [95%CI: 0.23-0.47%; P=0.0001], Black by 0.030% [95%CI: 0.016-0.044%; P=0.001], and Hispanic by 0.023% [95%CI: 0.006-0.039%; P=0.01]. At each academic rank, there was a greater proportion of men than women (all P<0.0001) and of white than Asian and Black (both P<0.0001). Higher ranks had greater proportional disparity. Of neurology chairpersons (1977-2021), there was a greater proportion of men than women and of white than Asian and Black neurologists (all P<0.0001).

Conclusions:

Over the past five decades, there has been an increase in diversity among US neurology faculty, though less pronounced in leadership positions. Women and racial-ethnic minorities remain underrepresented, especially in senior academic ranks and leadership positions. This representational gap may negatively impact healthcare productivity and patient outcomes. Future work should identify and address barriers to promote diverse, equitable representation within US academic neurology.

10.1212/WNL.0000000000208457
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