Women increasingly involved in ACR leadership roles since 2001

To assess the trends of women in voluntary leadership roles in the American College of Radiology (ACR) from 2001 to 2015, researchers collected retrospective records from the organization's membership database.

The data pulled were chosen by demographics and participation in leadership roles on state and national levels. It was then sorted by gender and year to evaluate the proportion of women in each leadership position relative to total membership or representation.

With their research, the team found that the number of women represented in ACR leadership roles increased over the years. From 2001 to 2015, women achieving fellowship in the college increased, becoming leveled with male member rates.

Women representation increases included:
·      State chapter representation increased from 7 percent to 21 percent.
·      State councilors representation increased from 14 percent to 18 percent.
·      Women members of the council steering committee increased from 13 percent to 19 percent.
·      The Board of Chancellors (BOC) had the largest increase in women from 9 percent to 33 percent.

Despite the increases, data still showed some low representation with women in some areas including BOC chairs, council speakers, ACR presidents and vice presidents.

“Women’s participation in ACR leadership has increased significant at the state level and in fellowship recognition,” wrote the authors. “Although there are increasing numbers of women on the BOC, the positions remain male-dominated at the national level.”