Inclusion for women in surgery involves re-envisioning the surgeon archetype: A commentary for the Social Consciousness in Surgical Care and Research series for Surgery

Bakke, Katherine; Blaker, Melissa; Miller, Pringl

doi:10.1016/j.surg.2021.01.053

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…9 One factor that clearly affects this relatively small rate of growth is that female surgeons experience unique challenges in their workplaces, including parenthood penalties, sexual harassment, unfair evaluation when compared with male peers, unequal pay, and lack of mentorship or promotion to leadership positions. 4,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Despite the perception of being female friendly and the achievement of a higher percentage of women in pediatric neurosurgery, the results from our survey suggest that some of these factors may still be present in the pediatric neurosurgical workforce.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surgery, particularly neurosurgery, has historically been seen as the most masculine medical specialty, 22 with a strong emphasis on "surgical skills and traits" such as confidence, assertiveness, and making decisions quickly. 18,22,29 Moreover, this surgeon has historically been seen as a powerful leader, in control, and always available to work. Bakke et al 18 argued that this surgical archetype shows no weakness, puts work first to the detriment of their own bodily needs and family responsibilities, and behaves as if it is a "dog eat dog" world.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18,22,29 Moreover, this surgeon has historically been seen as a powerful leader, in control, and always available to work. Bakke et al 18 argued that this surgical archetype shows no weakness, puts work first to the detriment of their own bodily needs and family responsibilities, and behaves as if it is a "dog eat dog" world. The organizational structure of surgery assumes that the worker is disembodied, always available, and fully dedicated to their work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These are concerning responses given the enormous body of literature on discrimination against women in surgery. 1,[18][19][20]22,23,26,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] With so much accumulating evidence documenting these inequities, we expect there to be a higher awareness among all surgeons in recognizing discrimination. Of note, our study revealed that women did have a keener awareness of racial discrimination than men, even if they did not experience it firsthand.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender Differences in the Pediatric Neurosurgical Workforce: Professional Practice, Work-Life Balance, and Beyond

Granek,

Muzyka,

Limoges

et al. 2024

Neurosurgery

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Evidence suggests that female neurosurgeons experience unique challenges in the workplace including lack of academic advancement, challenges with work-life balance, harassment, and discrimination. How these factors influence the gender gap in neurosurgery remains unclear. This analysis investigated gender differences in pediatric neurosurgeons in professional and nonprofessional activities and responsibilities. METHODS: A survey examining professional activities, work-life balance, family dynamics, career satisfaction, and workplace discrimination and harassment was administered to 495 pediatric neurosurgeons. Response rate was 49% (n = 241). RESULTS: One-third of the pediatric neurosurgical workforce is female. There were no gender differences in race/ethnicity, American Board of Neurological Surgery/American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery certification rates, or pediatric neurosurgery fellowship completion. No gender differences were found in operative caseload, weekly hours worked, or working after 8 pm or weekends. Women took call more frequently than men (P = .044). Men were more likely to work in academia (P = .004) and have salary subsidization from external sources (P = .026). Women were more likely to anticipate retirement by age 65 years (P = .044), were less happy with call commitments (P = .012), and worked more hours at home while off (P = .050). Women more frequently reported witnessing and experiencing racial discrimination (P = .008; P < .001), sexual harassment (P = .002, P < .001), and feeling less safe at work (P < .001). Men were more likely married (P = .042) with 1 (P = .004) or more children (P = .034). Women reported significantly greater responsibility for child and domestic care (P < .001). There were no gender differences in work-life balance, feeling supported at work, or having enough time to do things outside of work. CONCLUSION: Despite little difference in workload and professional responsibilities, women held more domestic responsibilities and experienced and witnessed more racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace. Surprisingly, there were no reported differences in work-life balance or feeling supported at work between genders. These findings suggest that factors unique to female neurosurgeons may contribute to continued gender disparity in the field.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Gender Differences in the Pediatric Neurosurgical Workforce: Professional Practice, Work-Life Balance, and Beyond

Granek,

Muzyka,

Limoges

et al. 2024

Neurosurgery

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“…The culture of surgery is the epitome of masculinized physicianhood (Bakke et al, 2021; Myers et al, 2018). Surgery has traditionally been seen as the most masculine specialty in medicine (Cassell, 1997), with a strong emphasis on “surgical skills and traits” such as arrogance, ego, aggressiveness, and the ability to make decisions quickly (Bakke et al, 2021; Cassell, 1997; Myers et al, 2018). Moreover, this surgeon archetype is seen as powerful, strong, and always in control.…”

Section: Career Satisfactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of gender in career satisfaction for female surgeons.

Granek,

Barron,

Kulkarni

et al. 2024

Qualitative Psychology

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Despite working many hours under stressful conditions, surgeons report high levels of career satisfaction. However, female surgeons report lower career satisfaction and are underrepresented in some surgical fields. The goal of this analysis was to explore how gender influences career satisfaction for pediatric surgeons working in male-dominated subspecialties using a qualitative approach to inquiry. The grounded theory method of data collection and analysis was used. Forty-two surgeons from nine countries were interviewed using teleconferencing technology about how gender influences their career satisfaction using a semistructured interview guide. Transcripts were coded line by line, and codes and categories were created using an inductive approach to inquiry. All surgeons in this study described their careers as satisfying; however, a paradoxical tension emerged whereby female surgeons reported that they experienced no gender bias while simultaneously reporting clear instances of discrimination. All surgeons reported biases against women including instances of sexism, gender-based discrimination (i.e., unwillingness to hire women, encouragement to leave the profession, etc.), unequal distribution of labor for parenting/domestic work for women, and a lack of adequate accommodations and policies for pregnancy, birthing, and breastfeeding. The qualitative methodology used in this study revealed deep complexities of the experiences of female surgeons and the ways in which these experiences contribute to or detract from career satisfaction for female surgeons. Implications of our findings are discussed, and several feminist and psychological theoretical frameworks in which to understand the processes and complexities of career satisfaction for female surgeons are presented in the discussion.

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Surgery, surgical training, surgeons, and the need for social consciousness

Charles

2021

Surgery

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Inclusion for women in surgery involves re-envisioning the surgeon archetype: A commentary for the Social Consciousness in Surgical Care and Research series for Surgery

Cited by 5 publications

References 17 publications

Gender Differences in the Pediatric Neurosurgical Workforce: Professional Practice, Work-Life Balance, and Beyond

Gender Differences in the Pediatric Neurosurgical Workforce: Professional Practice, Work-Life Balance, and Beyond

The role of gender in career satisfaction for female surgeons.

Surgery, surgical training, surgeons, and the need for social consciousness

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