Influence of faculty diversity on resident diversity across surgical subspecialties

Background: Disparities among women and individuals from racial/ethnic minority groups persist in surgical specialties at all training levels. We hypothesized that these populations are underrepresented in surgical specialties, and that diversity in faculty is correlated with diversity in trainees. Methods: Linking aggregate data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Faculty Roster and the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Track databases, we evaluated self-reported gender and racial/ethnic composition of faculty and residents across six surgical specialties. Results: Programs with more women faculty had significantly greater numbers of women residents. Programs with more faculty from racial/ethnic minority groups were significantly associated with greater numbers of residents from racial/ethnic minority groups. From 2001 to 2017, the proportion of women residents, women faculty, and faculty from racial/ethnic minority groups increased across all specialties; however, the proportion of residents from racial/ethnic minority groups remained unchanged. Conclusions: In surgical specialties, diversity among faculty and trainees are correlated. However, the proportion of residents from racial/ethnic minority groups has remained unchanged, even among programs with the highest proportion of faculty from racial/ethnic minority groups.