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Perspectives and needs of neonatology division directors regarding gender equity

Journal of Perinatology volume 45, pages 689–694 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Gender inequities in pediatrics are extensively documented despite women predominating the workforce. As a landscape assessment of gender equity in university-based neonatology divisions in the United States, we collected gender equity measures from academic neonatology division directors; 83% (n = 106) participated. The majority recognized addressing gender inequity was a middle-to-top priority, though they reported minimal gender inequities in their division. Most division directors are men and a higher proportion of full professors are men, but they reported minimal differences in time to promotion, leadership positions, and awards. Half of centers analyzed compensation by gender; all reported no gender difference. The existence of gender-equity-promoting strategies was variable and uncertain by many directors. They reported lack of bandwidth, personnel, and resources as the largest barriers to tracking and addressing gender inequities. These perceived minimal gender inequities diverge from published objective data and highlight the need to track and report metrics accurately and systematically.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Emily Golbeck, Zecilly Guzman, and Diana Madden of the Smith Child Health Catalyst team within the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago for their assistance with the development of this assessment. The authors would also like to acknowledge the following individuals for their contributions to data collection for this study, with their permission: Aaron Hamvas, MD; Amit M. Mathur, MD; Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD; Annemarie Stroustrup, MD, MPH; Arthur D’Harlingue, MD; Ashley S. Ross, MD; Beau Batton, MD; Billie Lou Short, MD; Brenda Poindexter, MD; Caleb John Podraza, MD, MBA, FAAP; Carl T. D’Angio, MD; Charles Macias Neal, MD, PhD; Courtney Juliano, MD; De-Ann M. Pillers, MD; Deborah Campbell, MD; Edmund F. LaGamma, MD, FAAP; Elba Fayard, MD; Eric Eichenwald, MD; Eugenia K. Pallotto, MD, MSCE; Girija Natarajan, MD; Helen Christou, MD; J.V. Aranda, MD, PhD, FRCPC; Jae H. Kim, MD, PhD; Jamil H. Khan, MD, FAAP; Jeffrey R. Kaiser, MD, MA; Jill L. Maron, MD, MPH; John D. E. Barks, MD; Karen D. Hendricks-Munoz, MD, MPH; Karen K. Mestan, MD; Kevin Dysart, MD; L. Garcia, MD, FAAP; Lawrence S. Prince, MD, PhD; Leif D. Nelin, MD; Linda J. Van Marter, MD, MPH; Lisa Eiland, MD, FAAP; M. Jawad Javed, MD; M. Kabir Abubakar, MD; Maneesh Batra, MD, MPH; Margaret Parker, MD, MPH; Mark L. Hudak, MD; Michael J. Horgan, MD; Misty Good, MD, MS; Mohamed Ahmed, MD, PhD; Pankaj Agrawal, MD, MMSc; Patrick J. McNamara, MB, BCH, BAO, DCH, MSc; Paul C. Mann, MD; Paul H. Lerou, MD; Rachana Singh, MD, MS; Rangasamy Ramanathan, MD; Robert L. Schelonka MD; Robin K. Ohls, MD; Ryan M. McAdams, MD; Ryan Moore, MD; Sanjeet K. Panda, MD; Sarah N. Taylor, MD; Scott D. Duncan, MD, MHA; Steven J. McElroy, MD; Steven Olsen, MD; Steven Ringer, MD, PhD; Tara M. Randis, MD, MS; Trent E. Tipple, MD; Vineet Bhandari, MD, DM; Virender K. Rehan, MD; Waldemar A. Carlo, MD.

Funding

The building of the data collection instrument was supported by an American Academy of Pediatrics Section of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine Strategic Grant. The American Academy of Pediatrics Section of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine had no role in the design and conduct of the study. REDCap is supported at Feinberg School of Medicine by the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Science (NUCATS) Institute, Research reported in this publication was supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant Number UL1TR001422. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Kerri Z. Machut & Lauren Gadek

  2. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Kerri Z. Machut

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Lisa Owens

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Northeast Georgia Health System, Longstreet Clinic, Gainesville, GA, USA

    Jasmeet Kataria-Hale

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Krithika Lingappan

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Renate Savich

  7. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Children’s Regional Hospital, Cooper University Health Care, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ, USA

    Alla Kushnir

  8. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Dena Hubbard

  9. Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Christiane E. L. Dammann

Authors
  1. Kerri Z. Machut
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  2. Lisa Owens
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  4. Jasmeet Kataria-Hale
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  5. Krithika Lingappan
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  6. Renate Savich
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  7. Alla Kushnir
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  8. Dena Hubbard
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  9. Christiane E. L. Dammann
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Contributions

All authors conceptualized and designed the study, critically reviewed and revised the manuscript, approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of this original work. Additionally, KM designed the data collection instruments, collected data, coordinated and supervised data collection, carried out the initial analyses, and drafted a section of the initial manuscript. CD designed the data collection instruments, collected data, and coordinated and supervised data collection. LO carried out the initial analyses and drafted a section of the initial manuscript. JKH, KL, and LG drafted a section of the initial manuscript. AK carried out the initial analyses.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kerri Z. Machut.

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Machut, K.Z., Owens, L., Gadek, L. et al. Perspectives and needs of neonatology division directors regarding gender equity. J Perinatol 45, 689–694 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-02126-8

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