Abstract
Objective
Despite an increasing presence of women in medicine, the percentage of women in academic psychiatry remains low. At the University of California, Davis, women represent two-thirds of psychiatry residents; however, the percentage of female faculty is one-third. This article presents a novel approach to the academic gender gap problem.
Method
The Society for Women in Academic Psychiatry (S.WA.P.) is a peer mentoring group founded by junior women faculty.
Results
S.W.A.P. results to date include educational products, departmental demographic changes, and climate improvement.
Conclusions
Although results are encouraging, more effort is needed to achieve a true culture change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AAMC: Women in U.S. Academic Medicine Statistics and Medical School Benchmarking 2005–2006. Washington, DC, Association of American Medical Colleges, 2007
Bickel J: Women in academic psychiatry. Acad Psychiatry 2004; 28: 285–291
Handelsman J, Cantor N, Carnes M, et al: More women in science. Science 2005; 309: 1190–1191
Carr PL, Ash A, Friedman R, et al: Faculty perceptions of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in academic medicine. Ann Intern Med 2000; 132: 889–896
Palepu A, Herbert CP: Medical women in academia: the silences we keep. Can Med Assoc J 2002; 167: 877–879
Bickel J: Women in Medicine: Getting in, Growing, and Advancing. Thousand Oaks, Calif, Sage Publications 2000
Daniell E: Every Other Thursday. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2006
Pololi L, Knight S: Mentoring faculty in academic medicine. J Gen Intern Med 2005; 20: 866–870
Bussey-Jones J, Bernstein L, Higgins S, et al: Repaving the road to success: the IMeRGE approach to peer mentoring. Acad Med 2006; 81: 674–679
Lim RF, Primm AB, Hilty DM: Strategies for women, minorities, and other underrepresented faculty, in Handbook of Career Development in Academic Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Edited by Roberts LW, Hilty DM. Arlington, Va, American Psychiatric Publishing, 2006, pp 23–33
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Seritan, A.L., Bhangoo, R., Garma, S. et al. Society for Women in Academic Psychiatry: A Peer Mentoring Approach. Acad Psychiatry 31, 363–366 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.31.5.363
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.31.5.363