Gender Equity: How Do We Narrow the Gap?

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Over the past several decades, the presence of women in medicine has been recognized, as medical students, residents, physicians, academic surgeons, chairs, and leaders. From 2017, women have outnumbered men in medical school matriculants. By 2021, 47.3% of the resident fellows in American Medical Colleges (AAMC) physician speciality programs were female. In the case of OHNS we have a similar trend, as female residents have increased from 27.5% to 36.5% between 2008 and 2017. Despite this progress, more recently, women only occupied 18.9% of active otolaryngologists in 2021, showing a significant gender disparity in the leading medical specialties according to AAMC. However, AAMC data found that women comprise a larger percentage of Otolaryngologist residents, and there is a high probability that more women will pursue academic otolaryngology careers. Regardless, questions remain on how the present field will adjust to the growth of gender and eradicate the current inequalities in the OHNS field, which have historically limited the visibility of academic women leaders in this field. This panel features the barriers experienced by trainees and senior otolaryngologists in LMIC and HIC. They will draw on their experiences by using storytelling, from their early experiences in the OHSN field to how they became academic leaders in their respective disciplines. This panel will provide recommendations and future directions for bridging the gender gap in the OHNS field in LMIC and HIC and how we can help to achieve gender equality in the OHNS field.

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 1: To characterize the impact and experience of LMIC and HIC surgeons and trainees in the OHNS field.

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 2: To identify various barriers faced by trainees and surgeons practicing OHNS worldwide.

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 3: To identify and discuss possible solutions to overcome these barriers and bridge the current gender gap in the Otolaryngology and head and neck field.

BACKGROUND STATEMENT: Describe the changes in workforce gender distribution over time and characterize the gender barriers in the OHNS field. There is a significantly higher proportion of female otolaryngologists. However, the proportion of female professors and chairs is still significantly low.