Gender stereotypes keep women in the out-group

Women have accounted for half the students in U.S. medical schools for nearly two decades, but as professors, deans, and department chairs in medical schools their numbers still lag far behind those of men. Why long-held gender stereotypes are keeping women from achieving career advancement in academic medicine and what can be done to change the institutional culture are explored in an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

In "Stuck in the Out-Group: Jennifer Can't Grow Up, Jane's Invisible, and Janet's Over the Hill," Anna Kaatz, PhD, MPH and Molly Carnes, MD, MS, University of Wisconsin-Madison, present examples of three women at different stages of their careers to illustrate the ways in which gender stereotypes can influence people's judgment and negatively affect women in social interactions, causing them to be in the out-group and lose out on opportunities for professional advancement.

"Challenging cultural stereotypes about women and men is a critical step toward achieving gender equity in academic medicine," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health.