Women in otolaryngology in Turkey: Insight of gender equality, career development and work-life balance

Objective: The aim of this study is to collect information about the demographics, academic ambitions, job satisfactions, career development and work-life balance of female otorhinolaryngologists (FORL) in Turkey and to determine their experiences with, and attitudes towards gender discrimination throughout their academic careers. Study design and setting: A prospective survey study. Subjects and methods: The study was aimed to include all FORL who completed their residency program. An online survey was used to collect their responses. Results: Out of 208 invitations, 156 FORL participated to the survey. The mean age of the participants was 39.7 +/- 6.1 (29-75) years. 16.6% of the FORL used to occupy or still occupying administrative positions in their respective medical centers; 15.4% of them used to be assigned or still being assigned to a duty in otorhinolaryngology associations. Gender discrimination was 2.5 fold higher (p = 0.006 OR: 2.55 (95% CI 1.31, 4.99) in departments where there were no female faculty members. 53.2% of the female surgeons were both physically and psychologically harassed for their gender during their residency programs to deter from completing their program in otolaryngology. This finding is 4.1 fold higher than those who stated that they had not been exposed to any such gender discrimination (p = 0.001 OR: 4.094 (95% CI 2.22, 7.57). Conclusion: Healthcare policy-makers and institutions should consider taking all the necessary actions to prevent gender discrimination in order to increase job satisfaction and achievements of female specialists in the field of otorhinolaryngology.