Message from Sandra K. Masur, PhD, Director, Office for Women's Careers

Achieving diversity by the increased inclusion of women and other underrepresented groups in the faculty of medical schools and universities in the US is an ongoing challenge. Despite women's increased access to and success in medical school and graduate training in biomedical sciences, there continues to be significant fall-off in the percent of women at every step along the postgraduate ladder in academia.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), although women constitute approximately 50 percent of medical school and biomedical science graduates, women comprise 40 percent of assistant professors, 28 percent of associate professors and 16 percent of professors, Thus medical schools are not realizing the benefits that women physicians and scientists could bring to their medical and scientific missions.

In cooperation with the senior leadership, the responsibility for increasing the advancement of women in faculty and leadership positions at Icahn School of Medicine (MSSM) is led by the Office for Women's Careers (OWC). For example, in recognition of the difficulty of juggling family and career MSSM instituted a part-time faculty track. We are currently investigating other creative and supportive initiatives. Building on a 25-year-old foundation of Mount Sinai's Women Faculty Group, OWC continues to develop programs that decrease isolation and address issues of concern to the women faculty members including pay equity, discrimination, participation by women on decision-making bodies at Mount Sinai, limitations on career advancement, parenting and schedule flexibility issues, and the underlying unconscious bias that informs these issues. The AAMC awarded Dr Masur a Women in Medicine Silver Achievement Award for her work on this program.

Mount Sinai has increased the numbers of women in faculty and leadership positions over the past decades and the current growth phase provides additional opportunities. Diversity in medicine and research is an important driver for institutional excellence, making our outstanding institution even stronger. By bringing diverse perspectives to the complex problems in healthcare and investigative research, we strengthen our position in the development of breakthrough solutions and innovative findings.

We invite you to visit our site to learn about the unique programs we offer, which reflect our commitment to developing the potential of our women faculty and to increasing their leadership in science and medicine.