Abstract
Purpose :
It has been reported that female physicians constitute approximately half of the total number of physicians in OECD countries. However, gender disparities persist in leadership positions. In Japan, the proportion of female physicians is notably lower, standing at about 23% of the total, but among the ophthalmologists, female proportion is relatively high, reaching 38.8% according to a report from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). In this study, we investigated whether there are gender differences in the number of faculty members, especially at leadership positions within the ophthalmology departments of Japanese medical schools.
Methods :
Between November 1 and 15, 2023, we surveyed the number and gender of faculty members including professor (prof), associate prof, assistant prof, and research associate (RA) in the ophthalmology departments of Japanese medical schools and their affiliated hospitals. Data were collected from each department’s website. In cases where gender was unspecified, we referred to the MHLW’s website or consulted acquaintances.
Results :
In 81 ophthalmology departments of Japanese medical schools and their affiliated hospitals, the number of faculty members was 1574, of which 453 (28.8%) were female ophthalmologists and 1121 (71.2%) were male. There was a significant difference in the distribution of academic positions between males and females (p<0.0001). Among all female faculty members, the number (proportion) of profs was significantly lower than that of males [27 (5.6%) and 245 (21.9%); p<0.0001]. However, the number of RAs was significantly higher in females than in males [245 (54.1%) and 423 (37.7%); p<0.0001]. The distribution of associate profs and assistant profs revealed no significant differences between both sexes [32 (7.1%) and 114 (10.2%); p=0.055 and 149 (32.9%) and 339 (30.2%); p=0.3]. The female ratio in each academic position was as follows: 9.9% in profs, 21.9% in associate profs, 30.5% in assistant profs, and 36.7% in RAs.
Conclusions :
There was a clear gender disparity in the number of university faculty members in ophthalmology departments at medical schools in Japan. Furthermore, profs accounted for 21.9% of males, while RAs accounted for 54.1% of females, with significant differences observed in both cases.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.