Representation of Female Speakers at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meetings Over Time

Abstract

Background:In the United States, women comprise 16% of orthopaedic surgery residents, 4% of fellows, and 6% of practicing orthopaedic surgeons. The underrepresentation of women in surgical subspecialties may be because of lack of early exposure to female mentors. Conference speaker roles are important for visibility. This study aims to evaluate the representation of women in speaker roles and responsibilities at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meetings over time.Methods:The names of speakers and session titles at the annual AAOS meetings were obtained from conference programs for the years 2009, 2014, and 2019. Each speaker was classified based on sex and role. Sessions discussing scientific or surgical topics were classified as technical and those that did not were classified as nontechnical. Descriptive statistics are provided, as well as individual-year odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs) examining sex versus technical session status and sex versus speaker role; combined results controlling for year are calculated using the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel method.Results:Overall, 3,980 speaking sessions were analyzed; 6.8% of speaking sessions were assigned to women. Women were more likely than men to participate in nontechnical speaking roles (OR 3.85; 95% CI, 2.79 to 4.78). Among talks given by women, the percentage that were nontechnical increased (25.5% in 2009, 24.3% in 2014, and 44.1% in 2019). Among moderator roles, the percentage assigned to women increased (4.5% in 2009, 6.0% in 2014, 14.5% in 2019).Discussion:Our findings demonstrate an increase in female speakers at AAOS meetings from 2009 to 2019. The percentage of female moderators and nontechnical sessions given by women increased since 2009. A need for a shift in the distribution of speaker role exists, which promotes inclusivity and prevents professional marginalization. Representation of women as role models increases visibility and may address the leaky pipeline phenomenon and paucity of women in orthopaedics.

Orthopaedic Research Consortiums: A Review of Scope, Sex and Racial Representation

“…Hiller et al, in a review of leading orthopaedic journals over a 12-year period (2006-2017), reported that women were lead authors in 13% of articles and senior authors in 10% of articles [ 8 ]. Recent studies suggest females comprise only 16% of orthopaedic surgery residents, 4% of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery fellows and 6% of practising orthopaedic surgeons [ 7 , 11 , 32 - 34 ]. Our results suggest female authorship, and involvement in orthopaedic research consortiums appears to be greater than in the overall orthopaedic literature and general practice.…”

“…There have also been efforts from multiple subspecialty societies including the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS), the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) and the North American Spine Society (NASS) [ 13 - 15 ]. These formal initiatives have appeared to have an early effect on enhancing diversity within orthopaedic surgery [ 9 , 11 , 16 , 17 ]. However, many research groups and consortiums exist outside of professional society oversight, and the demographics of group members remain uncertain.…”

“…During the time that these groups have proliferated in the orthopaedic community, there has been increased recognition of the substantial lack of diversity in orthopaedics [7]. For example, multiple prior investigations have found that women are under-represented in podium presentations, leadership roles and as lead/senior authors in peer-reviewed publications [8][9][10][11].…”

Assessing Diversity of Invited Speakers at the AAOS Annual Meeting

“…than on a technical topic (surgical technique, surgical outcomes, etc.) (Nwosu, Wittstein, Erickson, et al 2023). Without visible leaders and role models, female medical students, orthopaedic surgery residents, and those early on in their career may be deterred from pursuing research or academic careers, or from even entering the field, further contributing to the commonly discussed "leaky pipeline" and "glass ceiling" (Surawicz 2016).…”

“…This study assessed only presenters who were invited speakers and thus chosen in an unblinded fashion; we did not examine presenters of abstracts, posters, or manuscripts as these are generally chosen in a blinded fashion. Gender was determined for each speaker through a predetermined process consistent with that used in previous similar studies (Gerull, Wahba, Goldin, et al 2020;Nwosu, Wittstein, Erickson, et al 2023;Rynecki et al 2020). An internet search of publicly available websites such as departmental web-sites, LinkedIn pages, and Doximity pages was performed.…”