Women in Neurosurgery: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review of Where We Stand and a Pilot Study on How to Move Forward

Abstract

Surgical specialties struggle to recruit women. In this study, the authors performed a systematic review to describe progress of women in neurosurgery and highlight areas where further research is needed. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were queried with "women in neurosurgery" OR "female neurosurgeon," and publications with empiric research were included. Bias was assessed on the basis of study designs. We found 127 papers, and 36 met inclusion criteria. Much of this research is recent-85% has been published within the past 3 years. These papers detail differences between genders and examine possible causes, but they do not test interventions to remedy inequities. The authors designed an intervention focusing on medical students' perceptions of gender issues within neurosurgery. A seminar was designed with 2 objectives: inform medical students about changes within neurosurgery and introduce them to a female neurosurgery attending who could serve as a potential future mentor. Student attitudes were assessed before and after the seminar by survey. Fourteen students completed both surveys: 10 females and 4 males. The 1-hour seminar significantly reduced the mean perceived difficulty to enter neurosurgery from 4.4 to 4.1 (P= 0.014); additionally, the mean perceived additional difficulty for career advancement faced by women in neurosurgery decreased from 3.6 to 2.8 (P= 0.026). Much research has gone into documenting the advancement and potential impediments for women in neurosurgery. Less research has tested solutions. Our pilot was small and susceptible to bias, but given that some results achieved significance, it merits more rigorous study.