Racial and ethnic disparities in promotion and retention of academic surgeons

Background: Racial/ethnic diversity remains poor in academic surgery. However, no study has quantified differences in the rates of retention and promotion of underrepresented minority (URM) academic surgeons. Methods: The American Association of Medical Colleges Faculty Roster was used to track all first-time assistant and associate professors appointed between 1/1/2003 and 12/31/2006. Primary endpoints were percent promotion and retention at ten-year follow-up. Results: Initially, the majority of assistant and associate professors of surgery were White (62%; 75%). Black assistant professors had lower 10-year promotion rates across all specialties (p < 0.01). There were no race/ethnicity-based differences in promotion for associate professors. Retention rates were higher for White assistant professors than Asian or Black/Hispanic/Other minority faculty (61.3% vs 52.8% vs. 50.8% respectively; p < 0.01). There was no difference in 10-year retention rates among associate professors based on race/ethnicity. Conclusions: Underrepresented minority surgeons are less likely to remain in academia and Black assistant professors have the lowest rates of promotion. These findings highlight the need to develop institutional programs to better support and develop minority faculty members in academic medicine.