Gender distribution and women leadership in German Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

• Published in: Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 426 - 434
• Main Authors: Saadoun, Rakan, Risse, Eva‐Maria, Sadoun, Leen, Kamal, Abdallah, Pudszuhn, Annett, Obermueller, Theresa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.04.2023; Wiley
• Subjects: Application programming interface; Comprehensive (General) Otolaryngology; Departments; disparity; female; Females; gender; Gender differences; Gender equity; Hospitals; inequity; Original Research; Otolaryngology; Physicians; Regression analysis; Women; East Germany; North America; West Germany; Germany; inequity; gender; female; disparity; women
• ISSN: 2378-8038; 2378-8038
• DOI: 10.1002/lio2.1050

Objective To determine the distribution of female physicians throughout the rank from resident to leadership positions in German Otolaryngology‐Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) departments. Methods This cross‐sectional study collected data about the physician workforce in the German OHNS. The primary outcome was the proportion of female physicians. Data were collected from 165 departments from January 2022 to February 2022. The physician workforce was stratified based on gender and leadership. Results We included 2089 physicians from 165 departments of OHNS in German hospitals. Female residents and specialists outnumbered male peers (484/872 [55.5%] vs. 388/872 [44.5%] and 224/363 [61.71%] vs. 139/363 [38.29%], respectively). However, the women proportion decreased gradually with elevated hierarchical rank starting at the attending physician level to reaching its lowest extreme (14/165 [7.23%]) at the head of the department level. Holding a leadership position was associated with being male (n = 282 [85.2%] vs. n = 49 [14.8%], p < .0001). This persisted even after controlling the academic rank in a multivariable regression model (OR: 5.027, 95% CI: 3.536–7.146). The gap between the two genders in favor of men regarding leadership persisted in all kinds of hospitals. However, this disparity was lowest in university hospitals, (male: n = 83 [78.3%] vs. female: n = 23, [21.7%], p < .0001). Conclusions Even though women outnumbered men in resident and specialist positions, they are still underrepresented in leadership positions in OHNS. Continuous surveillance is needed to watch the dynamic changes in the gap between the two genders and address it with more sex equality‐supporting policies. Level of Evidence IV. Women have outnumbered men at the resident level however, the vast majority of the leadership positions are held by men. The family‐accommodating policies seem to be alone not enough to achieve equity in leadership between the two genders.