Building gender equity in surgery: unless we are comfortable to wait until the year 2136, there is some serious work to do

Read more in the March 2021 issue of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum about a study by Dr Yu-Ting van Loon of the Netherlands evaluating female representation, implicit bias, and perception on female participation and representation at the European Society of Coloproctology 2017 annual scientific meeting.

The study titled “Female representation and position based on facts and members views in the European Society of Coloproctology” highlights disparities between the sexes. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B384. LINK: https://journals.lww.com/dcrjournal/Fulltext/2021/03000/Female_Representation_and_Position_Based_on_Facts.14.aspx. 

In an associated editorial titled “Building Gender Equity in Surgery” by Jennifer S. Davids, MD, of the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, Dr. Davids states that despite the growing numbers of women in colorectal surgery, a recent longitudinal analysis of the current trends in leadership by women in surgery determined that, at the current rate, gender parity in surgery will not be achieved until the year 2136. 

Dr. Davids said “Unless we are comfortable waiting that long, we all have some serious work to do.” LINK: https://journals.lww.com/dcrjournal/Fulltext/2021/03000/Building_Gender_Equity_in_Surgery.2.aspx