The Gender Gap in Interventional Radiology: Barriers, Opportunities, and the Role of the Integrated IR Residency

To review the gender gap in Interventional Radiology (IR) and explore the role of the Integrated IR residency. A retrospective review of gender demographic data of medical school applicants to Integrated IR residency from 2016-2021, and active residents/fellows (“trainees”) in IR and peer specialties from 2007 to 2021. Women comprised 21.0% of medical student applicants to the Integrated IR residency in the 2020-21 academic year, versus 12.9% of Diagnostic Radiology (DR) resident applicants to the Independent IR residency; these figures have stayed relatively constant since 2016-17 and represent a statistically significantly difference (p=0.000044). The Integrated pathway has become the dominant source of IR trainees, growing from 4.4% in 2016-17 to 76.3% in 2020-21 (p=0.0013). From 2007 to 2021, the percentage of all IR trainees who were female grew from 10.5% to 20.3% (p=0.005). From 2017 to 2021, the percentage of Integrated IR residents who were female grew from 13.3% to 22.0% (p=0.053, 19.1% year-over-year growth), and has been higher than the percentage of female Independent IR residents (p=0.048). Women continue to be underrepresented in IR, though this gender gap is improving. The Integrated IR residency appears to have majorly contributed to this improvement, consistently supplying more women into the IR pipeline than through the fellowship/Independent IR residency. Women are significantly better represented among current Integrated IR residents than Independent residents. The now-dominant Integrated IR pathway must increase women recruitment for continued gender gap improvement.