What deters women from pursuing careers in interventional radiology: Factors associated with medical trainees decisions to pursue careers in IR

Authors

Krishnaveni Parvataneni, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA; Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. Electronic address: kparvataneni@mgh.harvard.edu.
Regina Tamposi, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Nathaniel Mercaldo, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Meredith J. Englander, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA.
Shellie Josephs, Department of Radiology, Texas Children's Hospital, Austin, TX, 78717, USA; Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Monica Uceda, Advocate Health - MidwestFollow
Natosha Monfore, Department of Radiology, Integris Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, USA.
Dania Daye, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.

Recommended Citation

Parvataneni K, Tamposi R, Mercaldo N, et al. What deters women from pursuing careers in interventional radiology: Factors associated with medical trainees decisions to pursue careers in IR. Curr Probl Diagn Radiol. 2025;54(1):70-74. doi:10.1067/j.cpradiol.2024.10.023

Affiliations

Advocate Medical Center, Oak Lawn

Abstract

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to understand the factors influencing a medical trainee's decision to pursue a career in Interventional Radiology (IR), and thereby to inform strategies to support the recruitment and retention of women in IR.

Materials and methods:Between April and August 2018, a 20-item survey was sent to all members of the Society of Interventional Radiology's Resident, Fellow, and Student section (SIR-RFS). Survey-weighted logistic regression models were constructed to quantify the association between key survey items and gender. Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were computed to summarize each association. False-discovery rate adjusted p-values were computed to account for multiple comparisons.

Results:The survey had 567 respondents, corresponding to a 21% response rate. 51% of respondents were medical students, and 49% were radiology residents and fellows. Women comprised 26% of respondents. Women respondents were less likely to be interested in pursuing careers in IR (OR 1.73; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09-2.75; p=0.021, pFDR=0.104). Factors that women cited as deterrents to pursuing a career in IR included a desire to become pregnant (OR 4.80; 95%CI: 3.27-7.05; p/pFDR<0.001), a concern for gender-related bias (OR 12.13; 95%CI: 8.01-18.38; p/pFDR <0.001), a concern for ethnicity-related bias (OR 2.07; 95%CI: 1.38-3.09; p<0.001, pFDR=0.004), a concern for sexual-orientation related bias (OR 1.75; 95%CI: 1.04-2.93, p=0.035, pFDR=0.123), and lack of opportunity for professional advancement (OR 0.56; 95%CI: 0.38-0.84); p=0.006; pFDR=0.039).

Conclusion:Women trainees are less interested in pursuing careers in IR, citing a desire to have kids and gender-related bias as leading deterrents. Implementing interventions that target these disincentives will help support the recruitment and retention of women in IR.

Document Type

Article

PubMed ID

39608934