Gender representation among academic US radiation oncology department chairs: who are they?

Introduction Women are underrepresented in academic radiation oncology (RO), particularly in leadership positions. In this study, we sought to better understand the characteristics of individuals who currently serve as academic RO chairpersons at institutions with an associated ACGME-accredited RO residency training program. Methods We created a database of academic RO chairpersons in the US by utilizing publicly available sources, including residency training program websites, hospital/institutional websites, Doximity, LinkedIn, the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) website, the American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO) website, and the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System National Provider Identifier Registry. We used the Chi-Square Goodness of Fit test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Fisher's Exact test via R version 4.1.1 to evaluate for statistical significance among categorical variables, medians, and proportions, respectively. Results We identified 85 of the 90 chairpersons (94.4%) currently serving at institutions with an ACGME-accredited RO residency training program, five of whom hold interim positions and were thus excluded from further analyses. Of the remaining 80 chairpersons, 9 (11.3%) are women and 71 (88.8%) are men (p < 0.01). 76 (95.0%) chairpersons are full professors and 19 (23.8%) hold dual MD-PhD degrees. 32 (40.0%) chairpersons hold an official leadership role in a cancer center affiliated with their current institution (43.7% of men vs 11.1% of women, p = 0.08). 73 (91.3%) chairpersons secured their current positions a median of 16 years (range 6-33 years) after completing RO residency. 35 (43.8%) chairpersons were promoted to chair from positions within their current institutions (40.8% of men vs 66.7% of women, p = 0.17). The majority of chairpersons are ASTRO Fellows (62.5%); notably fewer are ASTRO (5.0%) or ACRO (2.5%) Gold Medalists. Eight radiation oncology residency programs trained more than half of current chairpersons. Conclusion Significantly more men than women currently serve as RO chairpersons. Future interventions that promote the recruitment, retention, and promotion of talented women in academic RO should be considered.