Only 11% of NCAA team lead physicians are women

A wide gap exists in the gender makeup of the physicians who help NCAA athletic teams, according to new research. In the 2018-2019 academic year, nearly 89% of the team head physicians were male, while 11% were female. This was especially striking given that there is more parity among NCAA athletes — 56% men and 44% women — and more than a third of U.S. physicians are women. These disparities also existed among NCAA head athletic trainers: Fewer than a third were women. At the same time, some 52% of assistant athletic trainers were women. In a related commentary, experts suggest that job ads and performance appraisals should be reviewed for any wording that may contribute to a male-gendered stereotype, which the authors say is often aligned with athletics.