Identifying Positive and Negative Factors That Affect the Promotion of Clinical Faculty at the Wayne State University School of Medicine: Does Gender Matter?

Introduction: Despite well-documented gender disparity in academic medicine, there are many women who achieve success, including successful promotion to associate and full professor status. This study sought to determine whether there was a gender difference in the perception of positive and negative factors affecting the process of promotion to associate or full professor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSUSOM). Methods: All clinically active associate and full professors who achieved their most recent promotion at the WSUSOM were sent a link to a survey that obtained demographic information as well as the opinions of the respondents regarding what positive and negative factors impacted their most recent promotion. Results: Of the 73 respondents (24%), 58 (19%) were included in our final analysis. Two obstacles (“Lack of interest and encouragement from institutional or departmental leaders” and “Lack of tangible commitment from institutional or departmental leadership [e.g., protected time]”) were ranked in the top three ranks by a substantially greater percentage of females than males. Gender-specific networking was seen as significantly more valuable to female faculty members whereas having a stay-at-home partner was seen as significantly more valuable to male faculty members. Conclusion: At the WSUSOM, providing more gender-specific networking for women, increasing interest and encouragement from institutional and departmental leaders, and providing a tangible commitment to female faculty from these leaders may help more women to achieve promotion to associate or full professor.