• Chavon Onumah, Sara Wikstrom, Victoria Valencia, and Anne Cioletti.
• Department of Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA. conumah@mfa.gwu.edu.
• J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Jul 1; 36 (7): 2039-2047.

BackgroundA longstanding gender gap exists in the retention of women in academic medicine. Several strategies have been suggested to promote the retention of women, but there are limited data on impacts of interventions.ObjectiveTo identify what institutional factors, if any, impact women faculty's intent to remain in academic medicine, either at their institutions or elsewhere.DesignA survey was designed to evaluate institutional retention-linked factors, programs and interventions, their impact, and women's intent to remain at their institutions and within academic medicine. Survey data were analyzed using non-parametric statistics and regression analyses.ParticipantsWomen with faculty appointments within departments of medicine recruited from national organizations and specific social media groups.Main MeasuresInstitutional factors that may be associated with women's decision to remain at their current institutions or within academic medicine.Key ResultsOf 410 surveys of women at institutions across the USA, fair and transparent family leave policies and opportunities for work-life integration showed strong associations with intent to remain at one's institution (leave policies: OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.20-4.18, p = 0.01; work-life: OR 4.82, 95% CI 2.50-9.64, p < 0.001) and within academic medicine (leave policies: OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.09-5.03, p = 0.03; work-life: OR 4.66, 95% CI 2.04-11.36, p < 0.001). Other institutional factors associated with intent to remain in academics include peer mentorship (OR 3.16, 95% CI 1.56-6.57, p < 0.01) and women role models (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.04-4.68, p = 0.04). Institutions helping employees recognize bias, fair compensation and provision of resources, satisfaction with mentorship, peer mentorship, and women role models within the institutions were associated with intent to remain at an institution.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that institutional factors such as support for work-life integration, fair and transparent policies, and meaningful mentorship opportunities appear impactful in the retention of women in academic medicine.© 2021. Society of General Internal Medicine.

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