Exploring the gender gap: Letters of recommendation to pediatric surgery fellowship
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In brief
In brief
Retrospective analysis of 364 letters of recommendation for pediatric surgery fellowship applicants reveals significant gender-based differences in language and content. Male candidates received letters with more agentic terms and active language, while female candidates' letters emphasized communal qualities and occasionally referenced spousal accomplishments—patterns that may influence fellowship selection in this competitive subspecialty.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Background: Letters of recommendation (LoR) are considered one of the most important predictors of matching into a pediatric surgery fellowship. We determined if gendered differences exist in LoR written for resident candidates.
Methods: A retrospective review of blinded LoR to a fellowship program between 2015 and 2017 was performed.
Results: Of the 364 LoR reviewed for 49 female and 48 male applicants, male surgeons wrote 82.5% of letters. Male LoR contained more agentic terms (p = 0. 042), first name occurrences (p = 0.0082) and phrase "future success" (p = 0.015). Female letters included more socio-communal phrases (p = 0. 010) and 5% referenced a spouse's accomplishments vs. 0% of male letters. Male LoR contained more active possessive language (p-0. 027); ie: "he published", "he presented". We found no difference in an applicant's research experience (p = 0.06) or leadership qualities (p = 0. 067).
Conclusion: Gender differences exist in LoR written for fellowship applicants applying to a highly competitive subspecialty.
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.08.005