3143 - From Marie Curie to Modern Equity: Advancing Gender Diversity in Radiation Oncology

Purpose/Objective(s): Radiation oncology (RO) is integral to the management of several diseases that disproportionately affect women, including breast cancer, gynecological cancers, and other malignancies. The presence of females in RO is critical, as they can provide unique perspectives and enhance the quality of care for female patients. However, trends in the representation of women in RO over time have not been studied. The goal of this study is to evaluate trends in the representation of women in RO residency over the past 10 years as compared to the US population and medical school matriculants (MSMs).

Materials/Methods: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reports were used to compare the percentage of women in RO to data from the US Census Bureau using year-by-year census estimates from 2011 to 2022. When examining MSMs, data from 2007 to 2018 was analyzed to correspond with the expected year of graduation (2011-2022) for those students. Chi-square tests were used to compare the number of women in RO residency versus the expected number based on US population and MSMs. A linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the change in female RO residents over time. We further assessed the proportion of women in RO chair positions based on publicly available data from each radiation medicine program. Gender was based on biographies, where available, and additional information available on the internet.

Results: Over the past 10 years, there has been an overall decline in the number of women in RO residency (-1.4% over a 10-year period, -0.1% per year on average). This decline in female RO residents persists even while the number of female MSMs continues to increase (+3.3% over a 10-year period, +0.4% per year on average). Additionally, the number of women in RO remains significantly lower than expected compared to both the number of female MSMs (p<0.05) and the number of women in the US (p<0.05). During this same time period, the number of males remained significantly higher than expected (p<0.05), indicating a trend of decreased gender diversity in the field of RO.

Conclusion: Despite the increased representation of women in MSMs, women remain significantly underrepresented in RO residency, and this discrepancy is continuing to increase. Further, the proportion of women in RO chair positions (14.8%) continues to lag behind the female representation in RO (32.6%), suggesting barriers to career progression, such as implicit bias or workplace discrimination. Additional studies are needed to better identify the specific barriers for women pursuing and progressing in the field of RO.