160 - Faculty Diversity Trends in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the United States, 1977-2021

Objectives: To gauge the diversity in gender and racial/ethnicity across academic degrees, academic ranks, chair positions, and tenure status in the academic workforce of PM&R.

Design: Surveillance Study.

Results: Between 1977 and 2021, the increase in faculty was greater for women (715) than men (549), with the highest increase observed in White faculty (663). Representation of men and women faculty was nearly equal at the associate and assistant professor ranks. Despite an overall increase in women’s representation, women remained underrepresented in the full professor rank in 2021, with 32.1% of full professors being women. Instructors were the only category where the proportion of women faculty was higher in 2021 (62.8%) than in 1977 (58.5%). Among non-White faculty, Asian faculty had the greatest increase in representation at all ranks, with the proportion of Asian full professors increasing from 1.8% to 11.4%, associate professors increasing from 7.4% to 14.4%, and assistant professors increasing from 11.2% to 20.2%. Women representation as department chairs increased from 12.5% to 23.7%. The race with the largest increase in proportion was Asians from 2.5% to 15.3%.

Conclusions: Overall, although there was an increase in the number of women and underrepresented minority (URiM) faculty in academic PM&R over the study period, disparities based on gender and ethnicity/race persisted, particularly in higher ranks and leadership positions. The findings highlight the need to address the challenges faced by URiM in academic medicine.