Stresses and workplace resources for academic junior faculty: track and gender comparisons.

Despite the increasing numbers of women at all levels of academic medicine, women remain significantly less likely than are men to achieve senior rank or leadership positions. Possible explanations for the differences include limited access to mentoring, fewer rewards such as promotions, lower salaries, and less appropriate recognition. The slower progress of women faculty has also been related to fewer hours worked and decreased academic productivity related to childbearing, although studies have disputed this finding. The academic track has also been the focus of recent studies. Faculty with more than 50% clinical activity have less time, resources, and mentoring for academic career development. As academic medical centers have become more dependent on clinical revenue, expectations for clinical productivity of faculty have increased. Faculty in clinician–educator tracks might feel more stresses than those in more research-oriented tracks. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of assistant professors with respect to both gender and academic track to determine whether previously documented differences persist. We were also interested in examining how home responsibilities and support systems related to stress and productivity.