Asian American Female Residents' Perceptions of Facilitators and Barriers to Leadership in Medicine

Abstract

IMPORTANCE When their proportion of faculty positions are accounted for, Asian American women are the most underrepresented group among academic medicine leadership. Despite the importance of diversity and representation in academic medicine leadership, no study to date has explored the specific factors that hinder or support Asian American women's advancement to leadership roles in academic medicine. OBJECTIVE To characterize perceptions of facilitators and barriers to academic medicine leadership for Asian American women. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this qualitative study, Asian American female residents were interviewed between December 1, 2023, and April 30, 2024, using an online video platform. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Eligible participants were recruited through word of mouth, social media groups, cold emailing, and snowball sampling. A purposive sampling strategy ensured diversity in ethnicity, geographic locations of past and current institutions, postgraduate years, and specialties. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Key themes related to the perceptions of Asian American female residents on facilitators and barriers to leadership in academic medicine. RESULTS Fifteen participants (age range, 25-32 years) who self-identified as female and Asian American (3 [20%] Asian Indian, 6 [40%] Chinese, 2 [13%] Korean, 1 [7%] Punjabi, 1 [7%] Taiwanese, and 2 [13%] Vietnamese) were interviewed. Participants were enrolled in residency programs geographically distributed across the US. Training levels ranged from postgraduate year 1 to postgraduate year 6, spanning 9 residency program specialties. This analysis revealed 4 key themes: (1) role models of leadership, especially the representation of Asian American women in leadership positions; (2) multifactorial development of professional identity, specifically through peers, mentors, and formalized institutional programming; (3) the othering nature of workplaces and institutional cultures, including the exclusionary “boys' club,” discrimination from patients and colleagues, and burden of familial responsibilities imposed on women; and (4) leadership discordance, including differing ideas of leadership and sociocultural perceptions of Asian American women influencing perceptions of leadership potential. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This qualitative study of Asian American female resident physicians' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to academic medicine leadership found 4 key themes and identified opportunities for intervention, paving the way for enhanced representation of Asian American women in academic medicine leadership.