Gender equity in academic rheumatology, current status and potential for improvement: a cross-sectional study to inform an EULAR task force

Ovseiko, P. V. et al. (2022) Gender equity in academic rheumatology, current status and potential for improvement: a cross-sectional study to inform an EULAR task force. RMD Open, 8(2), e002518. (doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2022-002518) (PMID:35940824) (PMCID:PMC9367178)

Abstract

Objectives: Evidence on the current status of gender equity in academic rheumatology in Europe and potential for its improvement is limited. The EULAR convened a task force to obtain empirical evidence on the potential unmet need for support of female rheumatologists, health professionals and non-clinical scientists in academic rheumatology. Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised three web-based surveys conducted in 2020 among: (1) EULAR scientific member society leaders, (2) EULAR and Emerging EULAR Network (EMEUNET) members and (3) EULAR Council members. Statistics were descriptive with significance testing for male/female responses assessed by χ2 test and t-test. Results: Data from EULAR scientific member societies in 13 countries indicated that there were disproportionately fewer women in academic rheumatology than in clinical rheumatology, and they tended to be under-represented in senior academic roles. From 324 responses of EULAR and EMEUNET members (24 countries), we detected no gender differences in leadership aspirations, self-efficacy in career advancement and work–life integration as well as the share of time spent on research, but there were gender differences in working hours and the levels of perceived gender discrimination and sexual harassment. There were gender differences in the ranking of 7 of 26 factors impacting career advancement and of 8 of 24 potential interventions to aid career advancement. Conclusions: There are gender differences in career advancement in academic rheumatology. The study informs a EULAR task force developing a framework of potential interventions to accelerate gender-equitable career advancement in academic rheumatology.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This study was funded by the EULAR (project number: EPI 024). LCC is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. PVO is supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement number: 872396). HS and A-MK are supported by the NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McInnes, Professor Iain
• Authors: Ovseiko, P. V., Gossec, L., Andreoli, L., Kiltz, U., van Mens, L., Hassan, N., van der Leeden, M., Siddle, H. J., Alunno, A., McInnes, I. B., Damjanov, N. S., Apparailly, F., Ospelt, C., van der Horst-Bruinsma, I. E., Nikiphorou, E., Druce, K. L., Szekanecz, Z., Sepriano, A., Avcin, T., Bertsias, G., Schett, G., Keenan, A.-M., Pololi, .L. H., and Coates, L. C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
• Research Centre: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Immunobiology
• Journal Name: RMD Open
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 2056-5933
• ISSN (Online): 2056-5933
• Published Online: 08 August 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in RMD Open 8(2): e002518
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License