Letter to the editor in response to "publication performance of women compared to men in German cardiology" by Boehm et al. (2014)

Based on their review of abstracts submitted to the German Cardiac Society, Boehm et al. (2014) report better success of female vs male cardiologists publishing in journals with an impact factor ≥5. However, only 25% of conference abstracts were submitted by women, perhaps suggesting a paucity of women in academic cardiology. In this 'letter to the editor' we review gender statistics in the medical field using Germany and the US as examples. While women are well represented in early career stages, only fewfull professors are women. This reflects a wasted opportunity to benefit from the best of both genders. Recent gender research has shown that subtle gender bias may play a role. To change the gender statistics in academic medicine a multifaceted approach is necessary. This will ultimately lead to a more equal representation of women in senior roles, and bring science, medical care, and leadership to a new level.