Addressing the gate blocking of minority faculty

There have been ongoing efforts to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities in medicine (URMM), including faculty development initiatives, mentoring programs and outreach efforts. However, URMM faculty face unique challenges that are crucial for academic institutions and leaders to recognize in order to improve retention of this group and allow for meaningful advancement in the field. This paper introduces the concept of gate blocking, defined as what happens to minority faculty as a result of the consequences of the minority tax and systems designed to advantage some and disadvantage others. In addition to defining gate blocking, the authors make recommendations to address this concern in academic medicine and promote the advancement and retention of URMM faculty.

Automated summary

Efforts are ongoing to increase representation of underrepresented minorities in medicine, with specific focus on the unique challenges faced by minority faculty. The concept of gate blocking is introduced as a result of minority tax and biased systems, with recommendations provided to address this concern in academic medicine, allowing for advancement and retention of underrepresented minority faculty.