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Mentors and Role Models: the Role Female Medical Educators Serve for Female Medical Students

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Abstract

Discussion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has moved to the forefront in medical education, and in particular, efforts toward gender equity have emphasized the need for more women faculty and physicians. Gender parity was recently achieved for medical students matriculating into US allopathic schools during the 2017–2018 academic year1. However, this documented increase in women attending medical school as students is not matched by an increase in women teaching in the undergraduate medical education (UME) curriculum. In 2020, the faculty employed by medical schools across the USA (totaling 186,311) includes 43% women; this percentage drops significantly when considering the rank of full professor, of which only 26% are women [1]. For faculty representing graduate programs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), many of which teach in the pre-clerkship phase of UME, less than 25% are women [2], according to the 2019 AAMC statement of gender equity.

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  1. Department of Medical Education, The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Heather R. Christensen & Ellie Sidler Bognar

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  1. Heather R. Christensen
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Correspondence to Heather R. Christensen.

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Christensen, H.R., Bognar, E.S. Mentors and Role Models: the Role Female Medical Educators Serve for Female Medical Students. Med.Sci.Educ. 33, 517–522 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-023-01776-1

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