Objective: To assess whether male and female psychiatry supervisors are evaluated differently by psychiatry residents.
Methods: The University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry compiled anonymous supervisor evaluations completed semiannually by psychiatry residents over a period of 3 years. Male and female psychiatry supervisors' ratings were compared by using t-tests, effect estimates, and chi-square analyses. Results from these ratings were discussed in a resident focus group.
Results: Female psychiatry supervisors (n=76) were rated significantly lower than male supervisors (n=222), both overall (P<0.05) and in the areas of enthusiasm (P<0.05), clarity (P<0.05), and knowledge (P<0.001).
Conclusions: Future studies comparing evaluations of supervision by male and female psychiatrists must control for academic rank, numbers of publications, and hours of teaching. Comparing evaluations of the various male-female supervisory pairs will be useful to assess for gender biases.