Women radiologists in the United States: Results from the American College of Radiology's 2003 Survey

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate data from the 2003 American College of Radiology ( ACR) survey of diagnostic radiologists with regard to characteristics of women radiologists, their professional activities, and the practices in which they work. Materials and Methods: The authors analyzed nonindividually identified data from the ACR's 2003 Survey of Radiologists, a stratified random sample survey that guaranteed respondents confidentiality. A cover letter assured respondents that no individually identifiable information would be disseminated; to further enhance confidentiality, survey operations were conducted by a contractor rather than by the ACR itself. There was a 63% response rate, with a total of 1924 responses. Responses were weighted to make them representative of all radiologists in the United States. Two-tailed z tests of percentages and means and multiple regression analysis were used to compare information for women radiologists with that for men radiologists. Results: Twenty-four percent of radiologists in training ( residents and fellows) and 18% of posttraining, professionally active radiologists were women. Forty-one percent of posttraining, professionally active women were younger than 45 years in comparison with 29% of men ( P = .004). Women radiologists were more likely to have fellowship training than men ( 69% vs 60%, P = .007), although they were less likely than men to have a subspecialty certificate ( 16% vs 27%, P < .001). Thirty-nine percent of women and 16% of men worked part-time ( P < .001). Women were more concentrated in academia ( 22% vs 14%, P = .009) and breast imaging ( 27% vs 6%, P < .001) than their male peers but were underrepresented in interventional radiology ( 2% vs 13%, P < .001) and neuroradiology ( 3% vs 10%, P < .001). In situations where radiologists are likely to be practice owners, fewer women than men were owners ( 75% vs 91%) ( P = .011). Women reported the same level of enjoyment of radiology as did men. Conclusion: Women radiologists differ from men in regard to age, fellowship training, full-versus part-time employment, academic versus nonacademic practice, subspecialty practice, and practice ownership.