Women in Biomedical Research: Best Practices for Sustaining Career Success. Meeting Proceedings held on March 4, 2008 at National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD

摘要

Women now represent 50 percent of the medical school graduates and 50 percent of the PH.D.S in biomedical sciences in the United States each year, yet only 32 percent of the faculty in U.S. medical schools are women. recent studies point to a leaky pipeline; at every stage in the academic career ladder, there is a 10-to 15-percent attrition in the proportion of women to men. according to a recent national academy of sciences report, the problem stems from unintentional biases and outdated institutional policies and structures. For a variety of reasons, women in junior faculty posts are deciding that a tenure-track position in academic medicine isn't a good choice for them. The solution begins with examining the culture of the institution. Academic medicine needs to create a new culture and provide women with the mechanisms and support they need to seek and retain positions of leadership in biomedical careers. A useful first step is for the institution to conduct an honest and objective equity check. An assessment of current conditions will help guide the institution as it develops its own tailored plan for addressing the sustainability problem. Models for addressing the need to recruit and retain women in high positions can be found in the private sector, which faced similar problems in attracting and retaining female knowledge workers 20 years ago.