US and Chinese preschoolers normalize household labor inequality.

Across many cultural contexts, the majority of women conduct the majority of their household labor. This gendered distribution of labor is often unequal, and thus represents one of the most frequently experienced forms of daily inequality because it occurs within one's own home. Young children are often passive observers of their family's distribution of labor, and yet little is known about the developmental onset of their perceptions of it. By the preschool age, children also show strong normative feelings about both equal resource distribution and gender stereotypes. To investigate the developmental onset of children's recognition of the (in)equality of household labor, we interviewed 3 to 10-y-old children in two distinct cultural contexts (US and China) and surveyed their caregivers about who does more household labor across a variety of tasks. Even at the youngest ages and in both cultural contexts, children's reports largely matched their parents', with both populations reporting that mothers do the majority of household labor. Both children and parents judged this to be generally fair, suggesting that children are observant of the gendered distribution of labor within their households, and show normalization of inequality from a young age. Our results point to preschool age as a critical developmental time period during which it is important to have parent-child discussions about structural constraints surrounding gender norms and household labor.

Gender Disparity in Evaluation of Internal Medicine Clerkship Performance.

Importance: Women studying medicine currently equal men in number, but evidence suggests that men and women might not be evaluated equally throughout their education. Objective: To examine whether there are differences associated with gender in either objective or subjective evaluations of medical students in an internal medicine clerkship. Design, Setting, and Participants: This single-center retrospective cohort study evaluated data from 277 third-year medical students completing internal medicine clerkships in the 2017 to 2018 academic year at an academic hospital and its affiliates in Pennsylvania. Data were analyzed from September to November 2020. Exposure: Gender, presumed based on pronouns used in evaluations. Main Outcomes and Measures: Likert scale evaluations of clinical skills, standardized examination scores, and written evaluations were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate linear regression were used to observe trends in measures. Word embeddings were analyzed for narrative evaluations. Results: Analyses of 277 third-year medical students completing an internal medicine clerkship (140 women [51%] with a mean [SD] age of 25.5 [2.3] years and 137 [49%] presumed men with a mean [SD] age of 25.9 [2.7] years) detected no difference in final grade distribution. However, women outperformed men in 5 of 8 domains of clinical performance, including patient interaction (difference, 0.07 [95% CI, 0.04-0.13]), growth mindset (difference, 0.08 [95% CI, 0.01-0.11]), communication (difference, 0.05 [95% CI, 0-0.12]), compassion (difference, 0.125 [95% CI, 0.03-0.11]), and professionalism (difference, 0.07 [95% CI, 0-0.11]). With no difference in examination scores or subjective knowledge evaluation, there was a positive correlation between these variables for both genders (women: r = 0.35; men: r = 0.26) but different elevations for the line of best fit (P < .001). Multivariate regression analyses revealed associations between final grade and patient interaction (women: coefficient, 6.64 [95% CI, 2.16-11.12]; P = .004; men: coefficient, 7.11 [95% CI, 2.94-11.28]; P < .001), subjective knowledge evaluation (women: coefficient, 6.66 [95% CI, 3.87-9.45]; P < .001; men: coefficient, 5.45 [95% CI, 2.43-8.43]; P < .001), reported time spent with the student (women: coefficient, 5.35 [95% CI, 2.62-8.08]; P < .001; men: coefficient, 3.65 [95% CI, 0.83-6.47]; P = .01), and communication (women: coefficient, 6.32 [95% CI, 3.12-9.51]; P < .001; men: coefficient, 4.21 [95% CI, 0.92-7.49]; P = .01). The model based on the men's data also included growth mindset as a significant variable (coefficient, 4.09 [95% CI, 0.67-7.50]; P = .02). For narrative evaluations, words in context with "he or him" and "she or her" differed, with agentic terms used in descriptions of men and personality descriptors used more often for women. Conclusions and Relevance: Despite no difference in final grade, women scored higher than men on various domains of clinical performance, and performance in these domains was associated with evaluators' suggested final grade. The content of narrative evaluations significantly differed by student gender. This work supports the hypothesis that how students are evaluated in clinical clerkships is associated with gender.

Gender imbalance amongst promotion and leadership in academic surgical programs in Canada: A cross-sectional Investigation.

BACKGROUND: Women are underrepresented at higher levels of promotion or leadership despite the increasing number of women physicians. In surgery, this has been compounded by historical underrepresentation. With a nation-wide focus on the importance of diversity, our aim was to provide a current snapshot of gender representation in Canadian universities. METHODS: This cross-sectional online website review assessed the current faculty listings for 17 university-affiliated academic surgical training departments across Canada in the 2019/2020 academic year. Gender diversity of academic surgical faculty was assessed across surgical disciplines. Additionally, gender diversity in career advancement, as described by published leadership roles, promotion and faculty appointment, was analyzed. RESULTS: Women surgeons are underrepresented across Canadian surgical specialties (totals: 2,689 men versus 531 women). There are significant differences in the gender representation of surgeons between specialties and between universities, regardless of specialty. Women surgeons had a much lower likelihood of being at the highest levels of promotion (OR: 0.269, 95% CI: 0.179-0.405). Men surgeons were statistically more likely to hold academic leadership positions than women (p = 0.0002). Women surgeons had a much lower likelihood of being at the highest levels of leadership (OR: 0.372, 95% CI: 0.216-0.641). DISCUSSION: This study demonstrates that women surgeons are significantly underrepresented at the highest levels of academic promotion and leadership in Canada. Our findings allow for a direct comparison between Canadian surgical subspecialties and universities. Individual institutions can use these data to critically appraise diversity policies already in place, assess their workforce and apply a metric from which change can be measured.

Women in Surgery Italia: National Survey Assessing Gender-Related Challenges.

BACKGROUND: In 2019, women accounted for 46% of surgical residents. Despite the international debate on gender disparities, no literature regarding the experience in Italy is available. The aim of this survey study was to assess satisfaction among female surgeons in Italy, and determine whether they encounter gender-based discrimination. STUDY DESIGN: An anonymous, 83-item web-based survey was distributed among female surgeons working in Italy, from November 18 to December 31, 2020. Gender equity, satisfaction, and factors associated with higher satisfaction and work-life balance were explored. RESULTS: There were 3,242 volunteer respondents, 1,833 of whom completed at least 50% of the specific questions and were included in the study. Approximately 54% of female Italian surgeons reported being satisfied with their job, but only 34% with their work-life balance. Among residents, 67% thought they were not adequately trained. The majority of respondents were responsible for most of the housekeeping (60%) and childcare duties (53%), regardless of their partner's workload, and 62% reported that gender affects the way they are treated at work, with most of them experiencing microaggressions. Sexual harassment was common (59%), but only 10% of women reported it. CONCLUSIONS: Most Italian female surgeons are satisfied with their professional choice. However, they face gender discrimination, including incidents of sexual harassment and microaggression. Due to the fact that half of surgeons working in Italian hospitals will be females in the next few years, actions are urgently required to build a culture that supports a gender-neutral environment.

Atitudes quanto as normas não equitativas de gênero: propriedades psicométricas da versão curta de uma subescala da Gender Equitable Men / Attitudes regarding non-equitable gender standards: psychometric properties of the short version of a Gender Equitable Men subscale / Actitudes acerca de las nomas de género no equitativos: propiedades psicométricas de la versión corta de una subescala de la Gender Equitable Men

O estudo objetivou validar a versão curta de uma subescala da Gender Equitable Men (GEM) em universitários da área da saúde. A escala original possui 24 itens e avalia atitudes quanto às normas de gênero equitativas e não equitativas em relacionamentos íntimos. A partir de uma amostra censitária de 2.295 universitários da área da Saúde do Centro-Oeste brasileiro, foram realizadas análise fatorial exploratória (AFE) por meio de correlações policóricas com rotação direct Varimax e análise fatorial confirmatória (AFC) por meio da técnica de Modelagem por equações Estruturais. Outros 347 estudantes participaram na avaliação da estabilidade teste-reteste. A solução unifatorial com oito itens encontrada na AFE se mostrou satisfatória (χ²20=47,733; p<0,005; CFI=0,988; RMSEA=0,025[0,016-0,034]; SRMR=0,045), assim como na AFC (RMSEA=0,025; CFI=0,988; SRMR=0,033), obtendo-se α de Cronbach geral de 0,99. O modelo final apresentou bom ajuste e houve indícios de estabilidade moderada. A subescala da GEM versão-curta apresentou evidências de validade e fidedignidade, permitindo a avaliação de normas de gênero em adultos escolarizados com número reduzido de itens.(AU)

The study aimed to validate the short version of a subscale of the Gender Equitable Men (GEM) Scale with healthcare university students. The original scale has 24 items and assesses equitable and inequitable gender norm attitudes in intimate relationships. With a sample of 2,249 students in the health area of a university in the central west of Brazil, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed using polychoric correlations with direct Varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using the Structural equation modeling technique. Another 347 students participated in the test-retest stability assessment. The single-factor solution with eight items was satisfactory in the EFA (χ²20=47.733; p<.005; CFI = .988; RMSEA=.025[.016-.034]; SRMR=.045), and in the CFA (RMSEA=.025; CFI = .988; SRMR=.033), obtaining a general Cronbach's α of .99. The final model presented a good fit and there were signs of moderate stability. The GEM short-version subscale presented evidence of validity and reliability, which allows the assessment of gender norms in university educated adults with a reduced number of items.(AU)

El estudio tuvo como objetivo validar la versión corta de una subescala de la Gender Equitable Men (GEM) en estudiantes universitarios del área de la salud. La escala original de 24 ítems evalúa las actitudes hacia las normas de género equitativas y no equitativas en las relaciones íntimas. A partir de una muestra censal de 2.295 estudiantes universitarios del área de la salud de la región Centro-Oeste brasileño, se realizó un análisis factorial exploratorio (AFE) mediante correlaciones policóricas con rotación Varimax directa y un análisis factorial confirmatorio (AFC) mediante la técnica de Modelo por ecuaciones Estructurales. Otros 347 estudiantes participaron en la evaluación de la estabilidad test-retest. La solución de un factor con ocho ítems encontrados en el AFE resultó satisfactoria (χ²20=47.733; p<0.005; CFI=0.988; RMSEA=0.025 [0.016-0.034]; SRMR=0.045), así como en el AFC (RMSEA=0,025; CFI=0,988; SRMR=0,033), obteniendo un α de Cronbach general de 0,99. El modelo final presentó un buen ajuste y hubo signos de estabilidad moderada. La subescala GEM de versión corta presentó evidencia de validez y confiabilidad, lo que permitió la evaluación de las normas de género en adultos escolarizados con un número reducido de ítems.(AU)