Today JAMA published two papers regarding the prevalence of gender disparity and sexism in academic science. One, led by Harvard University, looked at more than 90,000 research faculty at U.S. medical schools and other academic organizations and found that men are far more likely to be promoted to full professor than their female counterparts, even when their experience and productivity are equal. The study found that in the U.S. women make up 33 percent of academic medical faculty overall but only 17 percent of full professors.

The other, led by nonprofit Health Resources in Action, found that women joining academic organizations as new faculty members received lower levels of start-up funding to launch their independent research than male junior faculty — on average, less than half the amount the men received.

These new findings are especially troubling in the context of the traditional academic trajectory and where women tend to drop out of science, said Dr. Gary Gilliland, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center president and director, who was not involved in either study.

If you are seeking commentary, I can offer an interview with Gilliland, who can discuss how at Fred Hutch, 40 percent of its full members (the equivalent of full professors at universities) are female, while recognizing that Fred Hutch – and academic science overall – still has work to do to reach gender parity.

“The thing I’d like to focus on here at the Hutch is how do we get to 50 percent [female faculty]? And what are the issues that constrain that? I’m not sure I know all the answers to that, but there are ways that we can try to understand it,” he said.