Surgeon Implicit Association of Women With Supportive Roles in Medicine

Abstract

Background: In a previous study, we documented patient implicit bias that surgeons are men. As a next step, we tested the implicit bias of surgeons that women in medicine have leading (chair, surgeon) or supporting roles (medical assistant, physician assistant). Questions/purpose: (1) What is the relationship between the implicit associations and expressed beliefs of surgeons regarding women as leaders in medicine? (2) Are there factors associated with surgeon implicit association and explicit preference regarding the roles of women in medicine? Methods: A total of 102 musculoskeletal surgeon members of the Science of Variation Group (88 men and 12 women) completed an implicit association test (IAT) of implicit bias regarding sex and lead/support roles in medicine and a questionnaire that addressed respondent demographics and explicit preference regarding women's roles. The IAT consisted of seven rounds with five rounds used for teaching and two rounds for evaluation. Results: On average, there was an implicit association of women with supportive roles (D-score: −48; SD 4.7; P < 0.001). The mean explicit preference was for women in leadership roles (median: 73; interquartile ranges: 23 to 128; P < 0.001). There was a correlation between greater explicit preference for women in a leading role and greater implicit bias toward women in a supporting role (ρ = 0.40; P < 0.001). Women surgeons and shoulder and elbow specialists had less implicit bias that women have supporting roles. Conclusion: The observation that musculoskeletal surgeons have an explicit preference for women in leading roles in medicine but an implicit bias that they have supporting roles—more so among men surgeons—documents the gap between expressed opinions and ingrained mental processing that is the legacy of the traditional “roles” of women in medicine and surgery. To resolve this gap, we will need to be intentional about promotion of and emersion in experiences where the leader is a woman. Level of evidence: III.