Do Gender Differences Exist in Letters of Recommendation for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellowship?

To determine if gender differences exist in letters of recommendation for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility fellowship. Cohort study Academic medical center Cohort of applicants to a reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellowship program at single Midwestern academic institution in a...

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Veröffentlicht in:Fertility and sterility 2023-12, Vol.120 (6), p.1234-1242
Hauptverfasser: Bolten, Katherine M., Brown, Oluwateniola, Komorowski, Allison S., Kwasny, Mary J., Feinberg, Eve C.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:To determine if gender differences exist in letters of recommendation for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility fellowship. Cohort study Academic medical center Cohort of applicants to a reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellowship program at single Midwestern academic institution in a single year. None Quantitative measures included linguistics inquiry and word count analysis, with four summary variables and twenty-five word categories, to quantify tone and themes present by gender. Performing qualitative analysis in parallel to linguistic analysis allowed for exploration of themes not conveyed in quantitative methods alone. Qualitative measures included frequency of code themes in letters of recommendation by applicant gender. There were 272 letters from 72 applicants, 54 (76%) of which were women and 17 (24%) were men. One applicant was excluded because gender information was not specified; 269 letters were included in the quantitative linguistics and qualitative coding analysis. One hundred ten letters (41%) were written by women, and 159 (59%) by men. Letters of recommendation written for men had higher mean word count than those written for women (537 vs 474, p=0.04). Linguistics Inquiry and Word Count analysis exhibited more risk words used to describe men applicants (p=0.01). When comparing word categories by letter writer gender, women letter writers more frequently used communal, affect, and home word categories while men writers more frequently used affiliation-related words. Qualitative analysis revealed that letters for men applicants described leadership, altruism, rapport with patients, and strong endorsements more frequently, while women applicants’ letters more often mentioned doubt raisers and disclosures of personal life. Additionally, letters for women applicants more often described candidates as drama-free, not easy to “fluster,” and not complainers. Further, letters for women more frequently disclosed parenthood status. Gender differences exist among both letter writers and applicants. Qualitative analysis revealed that women applicants were more likely to be described with doubt raisers and personal life disclosures, while men were more likely to be described by their altruism and with a strong endorsement. Increasing bias awareness and implementing mitigation strategies would improve gender equity in letters of recommendation. Gender differences exist in letters of recommendation for REI fellowship. Writers should avo
ISSN:0015-0282
1556-5653
DOI:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2023.09.018