A FRAMEWORK OF POTENTIAL INTERVENTIONS TO ACCELERATE GENDER-EQUITABLE CAREER ADVANCEMENT IN ACADEMIC RHEUMATOLOGY

Background: A growing number of professional societies in clinical and medically related disciplines investigate evidence, make recommendations, and take action to advance gender equity. Evidence on women’s advancement and leadership in the context of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology, EULAR, is limited [1]. Objectives: The objective of the EULAR Task Force on Gender Equity in Academic Rheumatology was to establish the extent of the unmet need for support of female rheumatologists, health professionals and non-clinical scientists in academic rheumatology and develop a framework to address this through EULAR and Emerging EULAR Network (EMEUNET). Methods: Potential interventions to accelerate gender-equitable career advancement in academic rheumatology were gathered from a narrative review of the relevant literature, expert opinion of a multi-disciplinary Task Force (comprised of 23 members from 11 countries), data from the surveys of EULAR scientific member society leaders, EULAR and EMEUNET members, and EULAR Executive Committee members. These interventions were rated by Task Force members, who ranked each according to perceived priority on a five-point numeric scale from 1 = very low to 5 = very high. Results: A framework of 29 potential interventions was formulated, which covers six thematic areas, namely, EULAR policies, advocacy and communication, EULAR Congress and associated symposia, training courses, mentoring/peer support, and EULAR funding ( Figure 1 ). Figure 1. A framework of potential interventions with the levels of priority, mean and standard deviation (SD) Conclusion: The framework provides structured interventions for accelerating gender-equitable career advancement in academic rheumatology. REFERENCES: [1]Andreoli L, Ovseiko PV, Hassan N, et al. Gender equity in clinical practice, research and training: Where do we stand in rheumatology? Joint Bone Spine 2019;86(6):669-72. Acknowledgements: The task force is grateful to EULAR for funding this activity under project number EPI 024. Disclosure of Interests: None declared Citation: Ann Rheum Dis, volume 80, supplement 1, year 2021, page 39Session: Education (Oral Presentations)