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 One big reason the women oncologists give is the lack of available
child care, according to the report in JAMA Oncology.
"This study illuminates a potentially actionable opportunity to
promote gender equity in medicine," said study coauthor Dr. Reshma
Jagsi, Newman Family Professor and director of the Center for
Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine at the University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor. "Physicians attend national conferences to
access leadership opportunities, to network with potential mentors
and sponsors, to educate themselves and to disseminate research."
In 2017, Jagsi and her colleagues surveyed 248 early-career
oncologists who worked at National Cancer Institute-designated
centers. Most had children who required adult supervision: 77 of the
108 women (71.3%) and 106 of the 140 men (75.7%).
Three quarters of the women had spouses who worked full time,
compared to less than half of the men.
The women reported spending an average 41.5 hours a week on
parenting and domestic tasks, as compared to 32.2 hours for the men.
Over the previous year, half of the women had attended no more than
two conferences, while half of the men had attended at least three.
Oncologists of both genders said they thought conference attendance
was important for career achievement, and both groups endorsed
benefits of attending these meetings, including presenting one's
research, networking and participating in committees.
The women were more likely than the men to say childcare
responsibilities would play a role in whether they attended
meetings. More women than men, 48% versus 35%, indicated that having
children had influenced their attendance of professional conferences
"very much" or "quite a bit."
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Women also rated the importance of onsite childcare more highly than
men: 6.8 versus 5.2 on a scale of 1 to 10. And more women than men,
28% versus 10%, indicated that onsite childcare was "extremely
important."
Jagsi, who is on the board of directors for the American Society of
Clinical Oncology (ASCO), pushed for onsite childcare at the
society's annual meeting this past June. "It was provided without
requiring payment for it," she said. "And it was incredibly
popular."
Dr. Annie Im was one of the oncologists who took advantage of the
new program. "It was very forward thinking of them to offer it,"
said Im, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of
hematology/oncology at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. "My husband and I are both oncologists. And prior to
ASCO having childcare we would coordinate and alternate. It was very
challenging."
The new study "is really interesting," said Im, who wasn't involved
in the research. "I think it's pretty telling the differences
between men and women at least in terms of the challenges of going
to a conference and doing those kinds of career-building
opportunities. People may have speculated before, but this study
shows the differences are there. It does seem like there is a
disparity in who ultimately makes the sacrifices."
At this year's meeting, "I had the kids during the conference and it
really turned heads when I walked by with two kids in a large
stroller," Im said. "Hopefully the time will come when people won't
look twice."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2XYhUFx JAMA Oncology, online July 18, 2019.
(The story is refiled to correct first sentence of paragraph seven
to indicate that the numbers cited were medians, not means.)
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