Abstract
Women are underrepresented at higher levels of promotion or leadership despite the increasing number of women physicians. In surgery, this has been compounded by historical underrepresentation. With a nation-wide focus on the importance of diversity, our aim was to provide a current snapshot of gender representation in Canadian universities. This cross-sectional online website review assessed the current faculty listings for 17 university-affiliated academic surgical training departments across Canada in the 2019/2020 academic year. Gender diversity of academic surgical faculty was assessed across surgical disciplines. Additionally, gender diversity in career advancement, as described by published leadership roles, promotion and faculty appointment, was analyzed. Women surgeons are underrepresented across Canadian surgical specialties (totals: 2,689 men versus 531 women). There are significant differences in the gender representation of surgeons between specialties and between universities, regardless of specialty. Women surgeons had a much lower likelihood of being at the highest levels of promotion (OR: 0.269, 95% CI: 0.179-0.405). Men surgeons were statistically more likely to hold academic leadership positions than women (p = 0.0002). Women surgeons had a much lower likelihood of being at the highest levels of leadership (OR: 0.372, 95% CI: 0.216-0.641). This study demonstrates that women surgeons are significantly underrepresented at the highest levels of academic promotion and leadership in Canada. Our findings allow for a direct comparison between Canadian surgical subspecialties and universities. Individual institutions can use these data to critically appraise diversity policies already in place, assess their workforce and apply a metric from which change can be measured.
Highlights
Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the benefits of transparency in the peer review process; we enable the publication of all of the content of peer review and author responses alongside final, published articles
Women surgeons are underrepresented across Canadian surgical specialties
This study demonstrates that overall, women surgeons are underrepresented at the highest levels of academic promotion and leadership
Summary
The importance of the social discussion and scientific study of diversity has never been as prevalent as it is today. In Canada, our government demonstrates the importance diversity has to Canadians by promoting policies that eliminate workplace discrimination and gender inequity at the provincial and federal levels [1–4]. A simple Google search yields a plethora of diversity statements and policies from provincial and national medical organizations, individual hospitals, regional health authorities, and the Public Health Agency of Canada. They recognize that gender diversity research shows patients treated by women physicians had lower rates of mortality, and women surgeons had decreased rates of 30-day post-operative mortality; and know that, as in the business world, increasing gender diversity within their organizations would benefit their patients [9, 10]. With a nation-wide focus on the importance of diversity, our aim was to provide a current snapshot of gender representation in Canadian universities
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