Abstract
Purpose :
There exists a gender gap in leadership positions within ophthalmology. In this observational study, we review characteristics of faculty at U.S. ophthalmology institutions to explore which features are associated with chair endowment.
Methods :
We included all 41 ophthalmology hospitals listed by U.S. News and World Report. Gender, endowed chair status, number of additional academic titles, academic degree, subspecialty, professor level, institution rank status, region of country, and state political party affiliation were recorded for each faculty member. Data was collected using publicly available information. A univariable analysis was performed to compare the odds ratio (OR) of chair endowment for all variables. A multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine the independent association of each variable with endowed chair status. An experienced statistician created the model in SAS software. Statistical significance was defined at p<0.05.
Results :
860 female and 1403 male faculty were included(Table 1). The following variables were significantly associated with increased OR of chair endowment on univariable analysis: male gender(p<0.001); 2 additional titles(p=0.005); >3 additional titles(p<0.001), ranked institution(p=0.040); institution location in South(p=<0.001), institution in Republican-affiliated state(p<0.001), PhD degree(p=0.028), full professorship(p<0.001), and uveitis/retina subspecialty(p<0.001). On multivariable analysis controlling for other variables, there was a significant association between number of titles(p<0.001), region(p<0.001), academic degree(p<0.001), professorship(p<0.001), party affiliation(p<0.001), and subspecialty(p<0.001) with endowed chair status but no independent significant association between gender or rank status with endowed chair status
Conclusions :
Additional academic titles, region, party affiliation, academic degree, professor level, and subspecialty were significantly associated with chair endowment after controlling for other variables. Gender was not observed to independently have a significant relationship with endowed chair status, suggesting that males may be more likely than females to have other characteristics that are independently significantly associated with chair endowment.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.