The American College of Physicians Is Working Hard to Achieve Gender Equity, and Everyone Will Benefit
Authors: Molly Carnes
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Editorials15 May 2018The American College of Physicians Is Working Hard to Achieve Gender Equity, and Everyone Will BenefitMolly Carnes, MD, MSMolly Carnes, MD, MSUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin (M.C.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0837 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come.—Victor HugoThe laudable goal of the American College of Physicians (ACP) is to “eliminate the inequities that exist in compensation and career advancement opportunities and provide a more inclusive environment to realize the full potential of all physicians” (1). Its position paper is timely and commendable but will not guarantee gender equity. After all, physician pay inequities persist despite 50 years of federal law mandating that men and women receive equal pay for equal work. That said, the importance of ACP's position paper cannot be overstated. It ...References1. Butkus R, Serchen J, Moyer DV, Bornstein SS, Hingle ST; Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians. Achieving gender equity in physician compensation and career advancement: a position paper of the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2018;168:721-3. doi:10.7326/M17-3438 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Isaac C, Lee B, Carnes M. Interventions that affect gender bias in hiring: a systematic review. Acad Med. 2009;84:1440-6. [PMID: 19881440] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Thomas-Hunt MC, Phillips KW. When what you know is not enough: expertise and gender dynamics in task groups. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2004;30:1585-98. [PMID: 15536241] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Kolehmainen C, Carnes M. Who resembles a scientific leader—Jack or Jill? How implicit bias could influence research grant funding. Circulation. 2018;137:769-70. [PMID: 29459461] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Jena AB, Olenski AR, Blumenthal DM. Sex differences in physician salary in US public medical schools. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176:1294-304. [PMID: 27400435] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Rudman LA, Mescher K. Penalizing men who request a family leave: is flexibility stigma a femininity stigma? J Soc Issues. 2013;69:322-40. CrossrefGoogle Scholar7. Kaiser CR, Major B, Jurcevic I, Dover TL, Brady LM, Shapiro JR. Presumed fair: Ironic effects of organizational diversity structures. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2013;104:504-519. [PMID: 23163748] doi:10.1037/a0030838 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Sheridan JT, Fine E, Pribbenow CM, Handelsman J, Carnes M. Searching for excellence & diversity: increasing the hiring of women faculty at one academic medical center. Acad Med. 2010;85:999-1007. [PMID: 20505400] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Carnes M, Devine PG, BaierManwell L, Byars-Winston A, Fine E, Ford CE, et al. The effect of an intervention to break the gender bias habit for faculty at one institution: a cluster randomized, controlled trial. Acad Med. 2015;90:221-30. [PMID: 25374039] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Devine PG, Forscher PS, Cox WTL, Kaatz A, Sheridan J, Carnes M. A gender bias habit-breaking intervention led to increased hiring of female faculty in STEMM departments. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2017;73:211-5. [PMID: 29249837] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin (M.C.)Financial Support: Dr. Carnes' work on promoting diversity and equity in academic medicine, science, and engineering is funded by grant R35 GM122557 from the National Institutes of Health. She works part-time at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, where she directs the Women Veterans Health Program.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M18-0837.Corresponding Author: Molly Carnes, MD, MS, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Center for Women's Health Research, 700 Regent Street, Suite 301, Madison, WI 53715; e-mail, [email protected]edu.This article was published at Annals.org on 17 April 2018. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAchieving Gender Equity in Physician Compensation and Career Advancement: A Position Paper of the American College of Physicians Renee Butkus , Joshua Serchen , Darilyn V. Moyer , Sue S. Bornstein , Susan Thompson Hingle , and Metrics Cited byResearch Conducted in Women Was Deemed More Impactful but Less Publishable than the Same Research Conducted in Men“This happens all the time”: a Qualitative Study of General Internists’ Experiences with Discriminatory PatientsEngaging faculty in a workshop intervention on overcoming the influence of implicit biasWhen a Specialty Becomes “Women’s Work”: Trends in and Implications of Specialty Gender Segregation in MedicineRemembering and Enhancing the Impact of Women in Infectious DiseasesSick and Tired 15 May 2018Volume 168, Issue 10Page: 741-743KeywordsBehaviorCareer advancementDisclosureGender discriminationMotivationScientistsSexual identitySurgeonsSystematic reviewsVeteran care ePublished: 17 April 2018 Issue Published: 15 May 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...