The Effect of Gender Stereotypes and Bias on the Developing Academic Surgeon

Presenter: Sara Myers, MD (Advisors: Drs. Matthew Rosengart / Matthew Neal)

Underrepresentation of females in surgical specialties is well recognized, with women comprising 19% of general surgeons and 22% of surgical faculty. Studies exploring modifiable sources of disparity concentrate on bias, covert or otherwise, at either end of the career arc—i.e. recruitment of female medical students into surgery or in rates of promotion and salary discrepancies that influence their retention in the field. These studies neglect the barriers encountered by women during training as they advance from intern to attending. One understudied factor is how gender stereotypes and resulting bias favoring men contribute to discrepant training experiences for female and male residents. Attitudes encountered by women during their surgical residency are complex and require further evaluation to investigate the effect they may have on academic engagement, skill performance, and ultimately, career success. The projects discussed in this presentation aim to facilitate our understanding of how negative stereotypes about women in surgery affect the professional development of females training to be academic surgeons. Specifically, Dr. Myers will show that 1) surgical trainees perceive pro-male bias in their environment, and that this perceived bias reinforces negative stereotypes about women in a way that affects 2) psychosocial determinants of success, and 3) technical skill performance.