Benchmark Status of Women Interventional Radiologists in China

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the current status of women interventional radiologists in China and discuss possible measures to boost their representation in this male-dominated field for a more diverse workplace environment in the future.

Materials and methods: The list of Chinese interventional radiologists obtained from the Chinese College of Interventionalists was retrospectively reviewed. Key information was extracted from the database, including sex, chronologic trends of representation of women interventional radiologists, position, education level, geographic distribution, interventional radiology (IR) practice time, departmental affiliation, and hospital classification.

Results: Of the 13,855 entries, 7,324 (52.9%) were interventional radiologists having valid information. Among them, 684 (9.3%) were identified as women. The number of women interventional radiologists has continued to increase since the first woman registered in 1992. The average age of women interventional radiologists was 39.1 years ± 5.7 (range, 26-50). The majority of them were attending physicians (n = 280; 40.9%) with a bachelor's degree (n = 363; 53.1%). Most women interventional radiologists (n = 215, 31.4%) joined this specialty 5-9 years after becoming physicians, whereas 128 (18.7%) started practicing IR from the very beginning. A total of 42.4% of women interventional radiologists were from the departments of IR and cardiology.

Conclusions: Although the total number shows an upward trend, women interventional radiologists are still underrepresented. Education level, geographic areas, and other socioeconomic factors may simultaneously influence the population size of women interventional radiologists in China.