Recognition awards from medical societies are a key marker of professional achievement and play a crucial role in physician career advancement. At many academic institutions, national honors—such as society-based recognition awards—are integral to the criteria for promotion to the rank of full professor.
Objective:
To systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis of studies assessing the gender distribution of recognition awards conferred by United States (U.S.)-based medical societies.
Materials and Methods:
A systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted in November 2023. Studies evaluating the gender composition of recipients of recognition awards from U.S. physician-focused medical societies were included. Studies without explicit methodology for selecting recognition awards were excluded. Data were independently extracted by two reviewers following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled proportion of women award recipients. The primary outcome was the proportion of women among recognition award recipients from U.S. medical societies.
Results:
A total of 35 studies comprising 16,994 award recipients were included. Across 25 medical specialties, the pooled proportion of women award recipients was 19% (95% CI: 15–23%). A similar pattern was observed among women physician recipients at 17% (95% CI: 13–23%). Substantial heterogeneity was observed (I2 = 95.5%), reflecting variations across specialties and award categories. Funnel plot analysis suggested minimal publication bias. Notably, representation of women overall varied widely across disciplines, with pediatric emergency medicine and pathology showing the highest proportion of women recipients, whereas neurosurgery and orthopedics were among the lowest.
Conclusions and Relevance:
Overall, women are underrepresented among recipients of recognition awards from U.S. medical societies. Addressing this gap will require intentional, systemic efforts by both medical societies and academic institutions to promote equitable recognition and advancement for all physicians.
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