Is it broken?

Abstract

Orthopaedics: A specialty with 388 current active surgeons in Aotearoa New Zealand of whom just 25 (6.4%) are women. This is a pretty dismal statistic given that women represent more than 50% of our medical school graduates. We acknowledge that not everyone has a strong interest in orthopaedics and that it is possible that a greater number of female doctors may genuinely be more interested in other areas of medicine. However, the issue is about ensuring that those that do have the interest and the potential to become great surgeons are not discouraged by feeling as if they do not belong. With the current gender inequality in orthopaedics, we are missing out on potential talent and the benefits of diversity. In addition, there are few Māori and Pasifika surgeons in Aotearoa New Zealand and only one openly gay practicing orthopaedic surgeon. Beyond even the sense of fairness and equity or the moral imperative, we know that diversity benefits organisations. Diverse groups make better decisions and experience improved creativity, performance, collaboration, and innovation. In step with this, the 30% Club is an established global campaign to improve female representation at board level in the world’s biggest companies. Evidence based studies have shown that improving diversity, in orthopaedics specifically, leads to higher quality patient care and better outcomes.