Female Leadership in Academic Plastic Surgery: A Comprehensive Analysis

Abstract

Background: Gender equity remains to be realized in academic plastic and reconstructive surgery. The purpose of this study was to measure the proportion of women in leadership roles in academic plastic and reconstructive surgery to verify where gender gaps may persist. Methods: Six markers of leadership were analyzed: academic faculty rank, manuscript authorship, program directorship, journal editor-in-chief positions, society board of directors membership, and professional society membership. Descriptive statistics were performed, and chi-square tests were used to compare categorical variables. Results: About 16 percent to 19 percent of practicing plastic surgeons are female, as measured by the percentage of female faculty and American Society of Plastic Surgeons members. Female plastic surgeons comprised 18.9 percent (n = 178) of the faculty from 88 academic plastic surgery institutions, and represented 9.9 percent of full professors and 10.8 percent of chiefs. Nineteen institutions had no female faculty. Women were first authors in 23.4 percent of publications and senior author in 14.7 percent of publications. No journal studied had a female editor-in-chief. Of the examined plastic and reconstructive societies, the proportion of women on the board of directors ranged from 16.7 percent to 23.5 percent. Conclusions:The proportion of female program directors, first manuscript authors, and board members of certain societies is commensurate with the number of women in the field, suggesting an evolving landscape within the specialty. However, women remain underrepresented in many other leadership roles, heralding the work that remains to ensure gender parity exists for those pursuing leadership roles in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery. (Plast.

Early Women Pioneers and the Evolution of Women in Plastic Surgery

“…24 A review of the five plastic surgery journals with the highest impact factor found that none had a female editor-in-chief. 20 These statistics highlight the disparity that continues to exist, and the importance we must place on supporting women in the field.…”

“…In addition, this study reported that nineteen institutions had no female faculty. 20 A study of invited speakers at five academic plastic surgery meetings in 2017 found that women comprised a minority of invited speakers at academic plastic surgery meetings, despite the fact that the impact of women's published work was no different than that of men among the junior and midcareer faculty. 21 Studies of authorship in the plastic surgery literature have noted women in the minority of first author and senior author publications.…”

“…21 Studies of authorship in the plastic surgery literature have noted women in the minority of first author and senior author publications. 20,22,23 Further investigation has suggested that although women may publish fewer articles than their male counterparts in their early career years, senior female plastic surgeons generate more publications and receive more funding than their male colleagues, suggesting that women who remain in academics can overcome this gender disparity. 16 As more women establish their practices, it is important for women to be represented in leadership positions at both institution and national levels.…”

Gender Equity in Hospitals: An Italian case Study

“…The relevant literature confirmed that, although there has been progress for women in medicine (Joseph et al, 2021), the gender gap is still present in healthcare sector and is rooted in gender biases and gender norms that date back thousands of years (Newman et al 2020). In such a direction, several authors shed light on the fact that different fields of medicine, including paediatrics (Spector et al, 2019), emergency medicine (Ravioli et al, 2022), and plastic surgery (Moeller et al, 2021), is not leading the way in gender equity.…”

The phenotype of academic pathology chairs

“…There is a growing body of literature on personal characteristics and motivations of individuals becoming chairs in other medical specialties, as well as data on gender and race. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 It is well known that by virtue of its position at the cusp of basic science and clinical medicine, academic pathology departments embrace a wide range of clinical and research missions. The leadership required to steer these departments in the appropriate directions therefore must be equally diverse, encompassing basic scientists, physician scientists, and clinical practitioners bolstered by diversity in race, gender and leadership qualifications.…”