Gender parity perspectives in Asia Pacific: a descriptive analysis of Philippine rheumatology conferences.

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Authors
Gupta, Latika
Issue Date
2023-06-01
Journal
Type
Article
Keywords
Conferences
Equality
Gender
Medical education
Rheumatology
Philippines
Divergance
Conference participation
India
Asia
Europe
Observational study
Narrative
Journal Title
Rheumatology International
Volume
43
Issue
6
Begin page
1135
End page
1141
Abstract
Gender parity at conferences can facilitate progress in academia towards the attainment of gender equality as emphasized in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The Philippines is a low to middle-income country in the Asia Pacific with relatively egalitarian gender norms experiencing significant growth in rheumatology. We examined the Philippines as a case study to analyze the impact of divergent gender norms on gender equity in rheumatology conference participation. We used publicly available data from PRA conference materials from 2009 to 2021. Gender was identified from information provided by organizers, online science directory networks, and a name-to-gender inference platform, the Gender application program interface (API). International speakers were identified separately. The results were then compared to other rheumatology conferences around the world. The PRA had 47% female faculty. Women were more likely to be the first authors in abstracts at the PRA (68%). There were more females among new inductees in PRA with the male: female ratio (M:F) of 1:3. The gender gap among new members declined from 5:1 to 2.7:1 from 2010 to 2015. However, low female representation was observed among international faculty (16%). Gender parity at the PRA was found to be considerably better when compared to other rheumatology conferences in the USA, Mexico, India, and Europe. However, a wide gender gap persisted among international speakers. Cultural and social constructs may potentially contribute to gender equity in academic conferences. Further research is recommended to assess the impact of gender norms on gender parity in academia in other Asia–Pacific countries.
Citation
Traboco LS, Zamora-Abrahan G, Reyes SM, Ovseiko PV, Sandhu NK, Gupta L. Gender parity perspectives in Asia Pacific: a descriptive analysis of Philippine rheumatology conferences. Rheumatol Int. 2023 Mar 13. doi: 10.1007/s00296-023-05303-8. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36912939.