AWIR leaders travel the globe educating institutions, rheumatologists and health policy decision-makers about the inequities present in academia, clinical medicine, research and medical education.

Our goal is to promote awareness of the barriers that women, minorities and other groups experience during training and in the workplace.

Our experts propose practical solutions to enhance diversity in the make-up of the rheumatology student and professional community, foster workplace environments that are friendly and equitable for all, and proactively include members from all backgrounds as equally valuable voices during decision making in the field.

We believe this is important because:

• Male physicians still earn more than female physicians per hour, and the income disparity is widened for women who have children1
• Black physicians earn almost $50,000 less per year on average than their White counterparts1
• The rheumatology workforce is becoming less racially and ethnically diverse, rather than more2
• Women make up the majority of rheumatology practitioners but lag behind in academic leadership roles, research funding, and publications3