Exploring perceived gender disparities in neurology career: insights from an Italian survey

Introduction: The percentage of women neurologists is steadily increasing globally. Nevertheless women still face lower and slower levels of career progression and are less likely to reach leadership positions. In order to obtain a better understanding of the gender gap in the area of neurology in Italy, the Gender Equality Committee of the Italian Society of Neurology (SIN) conducted a survey among the society members. Methods: Members of the SIN were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. The questions were grouped into different sections covering work environment, research, academic career, scientific societies, work/life balance and gender equality perception. The questions were structured using Likert-type scales. Results: A total of 237 subjects (64.1% women; mean age 42.5 ± 13.6 years), representing 6.4% of the SIN members, participated in the survey. A significantly higher percentage (p < 0.0001) of women than men reported that gender influences career progression (51.5% vs 5%), academic career (91.8% vs 57.1%), access to research facilities (37.5% vs 17.1%), authorship of scientific articles (34.2% vs 8.6%), selection of contributions and speakers within scientific societies (37.9% vs 16.2%), and work-life balance (76% vs 37.5%). Overall, women felt that gender equality was poor in all the different sections. Conclusions: In Italy women neurologists face a wide range of gender disparities affecting their professional and personal lives in the hospital and academic settings. Even if the low response rate could have affected the results, improving gender equality should be a priority in the near future.