Gender Disparities in Leadership Roles across the United States Academic Ophthalmology Programs

Background: Enhancing gender diversity in leadership can boost overall female participation in the workforce. Gender diversity in the workplace improves innovation, collaboration, and performance. Purpose: To investigate gender disparities in ophthalmology leadership roles. Methods: This cross-sectional study of the United States ophthalmology residency programs included chairpersons, residency program directors, and service directors. Data on gender, academic background, and clinical and research experience of leaders were systematically gathered from publicly available sources, including institutional websites, Doximity profiles, Scopus databases, and direct inquiries to each program, from September to November 2023. Results: Of 539 academic leadership positions in 117 residency programs reviewed, 176 (32.6%) were held by women. The gender distribution among program directors closely aligned with the overall makeup of the ophthalmology faculty (p = 0.93), with similar academic qualifications in men and women. Women were notably underrepresented in chair positions, accounting for only 17 (15.2%) of all chairs (p < 0.001), despite having comparable levels of clinical and research experience. Men dominated director roles across most services, except in uveitis, where women had higher representation (54.8%). Men generally had more years of experience across services, with exceptions in ocular oncology (p = 0.33) and retina (p = 0.32), and a higher h-index in cornea and glaucoma services (p = 0.003 and p = 0.005). Conclusion: While female ophthalmologists in leadership roles have gradually increased, women still occupy only about one-third of these positions and are significantly underrepresented as departmental chairs and service directors.