Gender Bias: Alive and Well

Gender bias is widely recognized across most industries, and the medical field is no exception. A bias implies unequal distribution of advantages for or against one group compared with another. Gender roles in western culture emerge as early as the preschool years and permeate all aspects of life, including our careers. Gender stereotypes assume men and women should behave a certain way and play distinct roles in society. When a person deviates from these traditional roles, conflict can be created in the workplace through implicit bias, something that we all carry. Gender bias and gender-based pay disparity were given a national platform in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. Nevertheless, nearly 60 years later, gender inequality and gaps in salaries and leadership persist in medicine, regardless of specialty (Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc 2015;126:197-214; Ann Intern Med 2018;168:741-3; asamonitor.pub/2Jf4ZNu). Neurosurgery, cardiology,...