Careers in Pediatric Urology: Thoughts on Satisfaction, Transparency, and Perceived Gender Differences in the Workplace
Leslie Peard, MD, Douglass Clayton, MD, John Pope, IV, MD, Abby Taylor, MD.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN, USA.
BACKGROUND: Although the number of women entering urology has risen rapidly in recent years, recent literature points to persistent disparities between men and women in leadership, promotion, and salary. Further, female trainees are subspecializing in pediatric urology at a higher rate of their male counterparts, but women in pediatric urology also continue to report perceived gender disparities in the workforce. We evaluated the career satisfaction of pediatric urologists to better understand the perception of gender discrepancies in opportunities for leadership, promotion, compensation, and treatment in the workforce. We hypothesized that no significant gender difference exists in overall career satisfaction, but women perceive discrepancies in the other arenas.
METHODS: An anonymous 86-item REDCap survey was developed. Questions aimed to obtain demographic information as well as assess professional and personal factors including overall career satisfaction, obstacles to achievement or promotion, perceptions of transparency in compensation, and perceived culture of work environment. After IRB approval was obtained, the survey was distributed to all active members of the Societies for Pediatric Urology via email. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and stratified by gender.
RESULTS: Of 531 recipients, 142 completed the survey for an overall response rate of 27. Ninety-seven (68%) participants identified as male, 34 (24%) female, and 11 did not provide gender. Of participants who provided values for career satisfaction, 93% reported being always, almost always, or usually satisfied with their careers. However, only 86% of women reported career satisfaction compared to 96% of men (p=0.04). 79% of participants felt they were on an appropriate timeline for promotion, representing 67% of women compared to 85% of male respondents (p=0.02). Conflict with leadership and lack of mentorship were the most cited reasons for delay. 28% of participants did not believe they are being appropriately compensated for their work, reflective of 36% of female responders and 26% of males (p=0.16). Overall, 52% of respondents reported having knowledge of their peer’s compensation, with 54% of females and 52% of males reporting knowledge of other’s compensation (p=0.44). Of those participants, 32% of women reported lower compensation compared to their peers while 16% of men reported lower compensation (p=0.03). When asked about treatment by staff, 26% reported feeling they are treated differently than colleagues of the opposite gender, reflecting 57% of women and 26% of men (p=<0.001). Of those women, 31%, 25%, and 44% report feeling their difference in treatment was positive, neutral, or negative, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Our survey indicates that female pediatric urologists report significantly lower career satisfaction compared to their male counterparts. Perception differs significantly between genders for promotion, compensation, and staff treatment. With a rapidly growing number of women entering pediatric urology, an opportunity exists to understand bias and gender inequality in urology, but much work remains to be done.
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