Exploring Gender and Racial Disparity in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: A Step Toward Diversity

A diverse medical workforce is pivotal for the provision of high-quality healthcare services to the US population.1 Currently, women comprise 50% of all medical students in the United States, whereas only 35.2% of the physician workforce is represented by women.2 The under-represented minority (URM) physicians are significantly lower in number compared to the White physicians.1 Women and the URM workforce are less represented at leadership and faculty levels.3 Although female residents have gradually increased, recruitment of URM residents in psychiatry continues to be low.3 The field of child and adolescent psychiatry has faced numerous challenges in recruitment and representation of URM residents.4 In 2017, among 134 child and adolescent psychiatry programs, 535 fellows (64.5%) were women.5 Considering racial trends, there were 383 White, 282 Asian, 78 African American/Black, and 2 American Indian child and adolescent psychiatry fellows.5.