Is there a gender gap in Italian radiology? A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Although the number of women entering the medical profession has increased, this has not led to an even distribution in all branches of medicine. In countries where the health service is mainly private, there are still fewer female radiologists, especially at managerial level. The aim of this paper is to make a comparison of work-related stress, satisfaction and perceived organizational justice in male and female radiologists in Italy.
METHODS: Italian radiologists were asked to answer an anonymous questionnaire during two successive national radiology Congresses.
RESULTS: Women reported a psychophysical workload that was the same as that of their male colleagues, but claimed that they had less control over their work, made a greater effort to fulfill job requirements, were more over-committed in their work and received fewer rewards for the work performed than their male colleagues. On account of the lack of procedural, distributive and informative justice, women radiologists perceived the work environment as significantly less fair compared to their male colleagues. Moreover, they derived less satisfaction from their job. They suffered from anxiety, depression and minor psychiatric disorders to a greater extent than their male counterparts.
CONCLUSION: Despite the significant number of women radiologists in Italy, the gender gap still exists and can be witnessed in horizontal and vertical segregation. Policies should be introduced to contrast gender bias.