A new study led by Emma A. Omoruyi, an associate professor of pediatrics at the McGovern Medical School of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, finds that the number of faculty in pediatric medicine increased from 9,510 in 2000 to 17,003 in 2020. The percentage of pediatric faculty from underrepresented groups increased from 8.5 percent in 2000 to 11.8 percent in 2020.
African American men made up 1.3 percent of all pediatric faculty in 2000 but only 1.04 percent in 2020. In contrast, Black women were 2 percent of all pediatric faculty in 2000 and 3.4 percent of all pediatric faculty in 2020. So Blacks were 4.4 percent of all pediatric faculty in 2020, about one third of the rate that would exist if parity existed with the overall Black population.
“The stagnation of male representation and lack of faculty diversity reflective of the U.S. population may have a critical impact on the field of pediatrics’ ability to recruit and retain a diverse workforce and promote equitable care,” the authors write.
Dr. Omoruyi earned her medical degree at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
The full study, “Trends in the Diversity of Pediatric Faculty: 2000 to 2020,” was published on the website of the journal Pediatrics. It may be accessed here.
