Interventions to enhance gender equity in academic medicine: a systematic review

Objectives We aimed to describe the current evidence for interventions to enhance gender equality and equity in academic medicine. We also wished to characterise the nature of the interventions, who delivered them and whether they seek to ‘fix the women’, or target issues at organisational and systemic levels. Design We extracted data using a form developed for the study and applied the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) and Morahan frameworks to describe and characterise interventions. We used the Quality Assessment with Diverse Studies (QUADS) tool to critically appraise included studies. Data sources We searched five electronic databases in November 2022 and August 2023 (Medline (OVID), Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Google Scholar) and undertook handsearching. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies We included qualitative or quantitative original studies published in full that described any new intervention designed to enhance gender equality/equity in recruitment, retention or promotion in academic medicine. The settings were Schools/Faculties of Medicine in Higher Education Institutions. The population of interest was female clinical academics/physician scientists.