Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Department of Medical Imaging, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Curr Probl Diagn Radiol. 2025 Jan-Feb;54(1):25-27. doi: 10.1067/j.cpradiol.2024.10.014. Epub 2024 Nov 26.
Gender disparity in radiology and its subspecialties presents a significant and persistent challenge, with only a small fraction of female Canadian medical students choosing radiology compared to their male counterparts. This disparity is further reflected in the professional landscape, where only 23% of practicing radiologists are women, predominantly concentrated in "women's imaging," which typically includes breast and gynecological imaging. This categorization not only perpetuates professional segregation by reinforcing gender stereotypes but also impacts patient care and research by suggesting that these areas are exclusively women's health issues. This paper explores the consequences of the "women's imaging" label and advocates for a reevaluation and renaming of subspecialties to more neutral, organspecific terms to encourage broader interest and participation. Furthermore, we propose strategies to enhance gender equity across all radiological subspecialties, including integrating radiology more thoroughly into medical education and promoting visible leadership roles for women.
放射学及其亚专业中的性别差距是一个重大且持续存在的挑战，与男性相比，只有一小部分加拿大女医学生选择放射科。这种差距在专业领域也有体现，只有 23%的执业放射科医生是女性，主要集中在“女性影像学”，通常包括乳腺和妇科影像学。这种分类不仅通过强化性别刻板印象来延续职业隔离，还会影响患者护理和研究，暗示这些领域仅涉及女性健康问题。本文探讨了“女性影像学”标签的后果，并主张对亚专业进行重新评估和重新命名，采用更中性、器官特异性的术语，以鼓励更广泛的兴趣和参与。此外，我们还提出了在所有放射学亚专业中增强性别平等的策略，包括更全面地将放射学纳入医学教育以及为女性提供更显著的领导角色。
