14 ways to accelerate the rise of women in radiological research
Picking the brains of 16 women widely recognized as leaders of academic radiology in the U.S., researchers at New York University have identified 14 “facilitators of success” that, if enacted, stand to eventually balance the M/F scales—on the research score, at least.
JACR posted the resulting study April 16.
The team took up the work to flesh out prior research showing persistent attainment gaps between men and women despite women making up 34% of the academic-radiology workforce. For example, one-third of academic radiologists are women, yet women chair only 9% of radiology teaching departments and receive only 16% of NIH research grants.
Lead author Rachael Piltch-Loeb, PhD, MSPH, and colleagues invited 28 women radiologist leaders to participate. The 16 who accepted spent 36 to 65 minutes answering questions posed in a semistructured format over the phone. The team had to subtract one completed interview due to problems with the recording that thwarted accurate transcription.
The verbal data were analyzed by two researchers trained in qualitative methods. They identified patterns that applied to the investigation’s central line of inquiry.
The authors found the results suggested 14 facilitators of success. They split these up as recommendations for three groups of stakeholders—individuals, institutions and organizations—as follows:
Actions individual women radiologist researchers can take to lift the arc of their own respective careers:
1. Identify informal mentors.
2. Identify sponsors.
3. Focus on self-promotion; such activities could include e-mails to one’s chair when a manuscript is published.
4. Attend leadership development trainings for women or for the field at large.
5. Attend and participate in national conferences and networking events.
Policies, procedures and programs academic institutions could put in place:
6. Develop and sustain mentoring programs.
7. Include family leave, not just maternity leave.
8. Examine pay gaps and proactively rectify discrepancies between male and female colleagues of the same level.
9. Suggest metrics of acceleration so male and female colleagues can each put their curricula vitae forward.
10. Promote flexible schedules whenever possible.
Activities professional societies or other outside entities might undertake:
11. Create programs to foster professional development such as seed grants.
12. Promote leadership training.
13. Use equity officers when looking at organizational leadership and conference or meeting presenters.
14. Reach out to women in medical school who may not be familiar with radiology to promote early interest and earlier community outreach.
Piltch-Loeb and co-authors also identified numerous barriers to success. They found these were “often associated with work-life balance and the nonlinear nature of women’s careers due to caregiving responsibilities.”
The authors acknowledge the small study group as a limitation in their study design. The findings, they note, “are not representative of all female radiologists but reflect thematic facilitators of success among a group of women who have reached the heights of their profession.”
They suggest their qualitative results will add context to previously published survey findings that supplied quantitative information on mechanisms of success.
“This study represents the first effort to qualitatively capture the facilitators of success for nationally recognized female radiology researchers,” the authors comment. “The field of radiology should consider how to work dynamically at multiple levels to implement the identified potential changes.”
Piltch-Loeb’s coauthors were Andrew Rosenkrantz, MD, and Alexis Merdjanoff, PhD.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.