Pos0561 the leaky pipeline in clinical rheumatology across europe – results from an online survey

Background While more than 50% of medical students and residents are women, their proportion drastically diminishes within higher ranks and leadership roles, a phenomenon also known as the “leaky pipeline”. Objectives We aimed to evaluate the leaky pipeline among rheumatologists across Europe and to assess determinants inducing rheumatologists to leave hospitals. Methods Experts in the field of economics developed a questionnaire (50 thematic blocks, containing 172 single items) with relevance to the leaky pipeline. with scientific focus on the leaky pipeline among rheumatologists, which was distributed electronically by national scientific societies of EULAR countries and by individual contacts. We performed common factor analysis, univariate t-tests and multivariate regression analyses to appraise our dataset using Stata Version 17 (StataCorp, Texas, USA). Results 311 hospital-based rheumatologists from 23/45 EULAR countries (52.7% females, 47.3% males) responded to the questionnaire. The phenomenon of the leaky pipeline was present for the entire sample. Of 64% female rheumatologists only 34.2% departments’ directors were female, with noteworthy regional differences (Table 1). Female doctors reported higher intentions to leave their hospitals (β = 0.28, p < 0.05) and lower commitment towards their current organization (β = -0.34, p < 0.05) when compared to males. Additionally, women reported lower levels of job satisfaction (β = -0.26, p < 0.10), promotion justice (β = -0.55, p < 0.01), and career perspectives (β = -0.15, p < 0.10, one-tailed) than men, explaining their lower organizational commitment. Conclusion Female rheumatologists perceive worse job opportunities and satisfaction than males. Many reasons for the leaky pipeline are beyond the control of organizations. By our results, organizations should be encouraged to reconsider and adjust their performance management practices enabling an equitable work environment. REFERENCES: NIL. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests Judith Sautner Grant/research support from: Eli-Lilly, Pfizer, UCB supported the technical operationalization of the questionnaire, Isabella Grabner Grant/research support from: Eli-Lilly, Pfizer, UCB supported the technical operationalization of the questionnaire, Arthur Posch Grant/research support from: Eli-Lilly, Pfizer, UCB supported the technical operationalization of the questionnaire, Christina Duftner Speakers bureau: Abbvie, AOP Orphan, Astra-Zeneca, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Eli-Lilly, Janssen, Galapagos, Merck-Sharp-Dohme, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, UCB, Vifor, all unrelated to this manuscript, Grant/research support from: Eli-Lilly, Pfizer, UCB supported the technical operationalization of the questionnaire.