Faculty diversity trends in physical medicine and rehabilitation by gender, race, and ethnicity in the United States, 1977-2021.
Jad Lawand, Leena Mazhar, Ali Rauf and 5 others
PMID 39719856WHAT IT FOUND
PM&R faculty became more diverse over 45 years, but women and non-White groups remained underrepresented at full professor and chair levels.
This is about academic careers, not patient care.
Key findings
01The number of full-time academic PM&R faculty increased by 1264 between 1977 and 2021.
02In 2021, women made up 48.9% of all faculty, 32.1% of full professors, and 23.7% of chairpersons.
03White faculty decreased from 82.4% in 1977 to 61.6% in 2021, while Black/African American faculty rose from 1.6% to 4.2% and Hispanic/Latino faculty rose from 2.1% to 4.1%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study used self-reported AAMC Faculty Roster data, so findings depend on how institutions and faculty reported categories. Gender data were presented in binary female and male categories, not as a spectrum. Race and ethnicity categories were broad, so differences within groups such as Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, African American or other ancestry could not be shown. The study did not examine combined effects of gender and race or ethnicity. Only full-time faculty were analysed, so part-time faculty were not included. The study did not establish why women or underrepresented minority faculty were underrepresented. The paper reports academic workforce trends, not patient care, therapy outcomes, or clinician behaviour.
Declared interests
No specific grant funded the research. Dr. Faisal Khosa reports named awards, including a Michael Smith Health Research BC Health Professional-Investigator award and several equity, diversity and inclusion awards. The authors declare no potential conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that these trends prove why women or non-White faculty are underrepresented or that patient care improved. The study analysed faculty roster counts and did not establish causes or clinical outcomes.