Gender Disparities in Academic Emergency Medicine: Strategies for the Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion of Women

Although women comprise half of all medical students, the number of female academic emergency medicine (EM) physicians remains at approximately 27%. In addition, despite having equivalent credentials, female EM faculty remain underrecognized and undercompensated when compared to their male counterparts. Recent studies have shown superior outcomes among patients treated by EM physicians who are women; however, disparities in advancement persist. This white paper, prepared on behalf of the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine, describes recent evidence demonstrating gender disparities in the EM workforce including content presented at the 2019 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting. The authors describe strategies to address the identified problems. Specific recommendations include individual as well as institutional/systems-level approaches to creating directed programming and initiatives to recruit, support, and promote women at all aspects of the career continuum.