Gender disparities in academic dermatology in Japan: Results from the first national survey

Background A wide gender gap exists in many fields in Japan, including the academic society of dermatology. Women are substantially underrepresented in the highest academic ranks. Objective We aimed to clarify the possible factors contributing to the current gender gap in the field of academic dermatology and to recommend necessary measures to decrease the gender gap. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study of faculty members’ academic productivity at the dermatology departments of all the educational institutions in Japan in 2019. Results Women had significantly lower academic productivity than men. A significant gender difference in academic productivity was found in lecturers and assistant professors but not in associate professor and professor positions. This gender difference was still significant after normalizing the productivity for career length. Conclusion Our findings suggest the need to encourage women lecturers and assistant professors to improve their academic achievement to decrease the gender gap in academic dermatology.