Women in Leadership Positions in Academic Cardiology: A Study of Program Directors and Division Chiefs

Background: Gender difference in the workplace continues to be a subject of great discussion. Cross-sectional studies demonstrate that women are often underrepresented in key leadership roles. We sought to examine the proportion of women in cardiology leadership positions and to compare the findings with the differences prevalent in the overall cardiology faculty. Furthermore, we aspired to compare the proportion of women in leadership positions to the proportion in which they entered the cardiology field. Methods: This is a cross-sectional online study of Cardiology fellowship programs identified by American Medical Association's Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (AMA FREIDA), conducted from March to April 2017. Data of all (n=512) cardiology fellowship program directors as well as 69% (n=140) cardiology division chiefs were collected. Results: A lower percentage of women held the role of division chief (5% vs. 95%) and program director (14% vs. 86%). However, when compared to the proportion of women in the 1992 fellowship cohort, women were significantly overrepresented in the role of program directors, with no significant difference in representation at the level of division chief. When compared to the overall cardiology faculty, program directors had significantly more publications and were more likely to have an academic rank of full professor (40% vs. 28%) or associate professor (37% vs. 23%). Male program directors had a significantly higher number of research publications, H-index, and academic rank than their female counterparts; however, such difference was not seen at the level of division chief. Conclusions: Gender difference is present in both program director and division chief roles. However, when compared to the historical cohort, significant overrepresentation of women was seen in the program director position, while proportionate representation was seen in the division chief role.