Women as leaders in organized surgery and surgical education. Has the time come?
O. Jonasson
Education Service, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, Ill.
Women have entered medicine in large numbers during the past three decades,
and are increasing their representation in some surgical fields at a rapid
pace. Few women are found in senior roles in organized surgery or at the
senior ranks of academic surgical faculty. Factors influencing this
imbalance include family demands, sexism, and stereotypes that hinder the
advancement of women into leadership roles. Strategies for correcting this
imbalance include affirmative recruitment of women into surgery,
particularly into academic surgical faculties; support systems, such as
child care and adjustment of promotion and tenure timetables; mentoring;
and programs of career development that emphasize skills in management as
well as research and teaching.
