Gender inequality and unconscious gender biases have an impact on both academic and clinical medicine, and renewed focus on the topic is leading to examination of how such biases are often on display at medical meetings and conferences.

An article about gender bias experienced by medical professionals throughout their careers included quotes from Elaine Pelley, MD, clinical associate professor, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. 

Dr. Pelley has studied gender dynamics in the endocrinology workforce, which is currently shifting from being a male-dominated to a female-dominated field. 

She discussed the subtle influence of gender bias, for example with regard to selection of panelists at conferences. 

"No one says, ‘I’m looking for a panel of all white men,’” Pelley told Endocrine Today. “But often it’s, ‘Oh, let’s ask so-and-so to participate; he’d be great.’ And there is nothing wrong with that person, and he is a great panelist."

She continued, "We’re not getting bad panels this way. We’re getting unbalanced panels.”

Resources:

• "From panels to posters, women confront unconscious biases in the #MeToo era," Healio EndocrineToday, March 16, 2018