EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN IN CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY - A GENDER COMPARISON

Objective: To assess the career and practice experiences of cardiothor acic surgeons, with references to gender similarities and differences. Design: Four-step mailed 115-question survey. Subjects: All identifie d women, and a cohort of men, certified by the American Board of Thora cic Surgery. Main Outcome Measures: Academic rank, career background, salary, perceptions and experiences of harassment or discrimination, a nd personal life characteristics. Results: No differences were found i n training backgrounds. More men (64%) than women (52%) were in univer sity practices. Comparable proportions of men and women were assistant professors (27%), but more men (27%) than women (13.6%) were full pro fessors. Fifty-eight percent of women and 21% of men reported salaries of less than $250 000; 62% of men and 32% of women had incomes over $ 350 000. Career satisfaction was comparable between genders; however, women perceived the promotion process as unfair and unrelated to acade mic rank. Both genders encouraged men toward a surgical career; men we re less likely than women to encourage women to pursue a surgical care er (P<.01). Women, much more than men, believed that discrimination hi ndered their career development (P<.001). Characteristics of personal life were also considerably different between the genders. Conclusion: Although practice and training parameters for male and female cardio thoracic surgeons are comparable, work experiences, personal life, and career rewards such as salary and promotion, and perception of discri mination are different.