Recognizing Intersectionality—The Association of Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Race With Social Experience

Abstract

In this issue of JAMA Surgery, Schlick et al 1 characterize the gender discrimination and sexual harassment experienced by women vs men in surgical residency programs across the US. Although illuminating this mistreatment is undoubtedly important, there are 2 equally important topics that are missing from this work: (1) an analysis that fully encompasses the community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/allied individuals as well as those with other gender identities (LGBTQIA+) when investigating sexual orientation and gender identity and (2) a consideration of the racial and ethnic identities of the participants.With the occurrence of many events in the US since 2020, the concept of equity has widely replaced the idea of equality. Equality refers to providing everyone with exactly the same resources, rights, status, and opportunities, whereas equity addresses the distribution of resources based on the needs of recipients and preexisting disparities. 2,3 Equity is an important concept to consider when addressing gaps in gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and race and ethnicity.The authors mention their inability to distinguish gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation within the study's limitations, 1 and it is important to acknowledge that each of these issues has substantial consequences for the social experiences of an individual. For example, in a survey adminis-Related article page 942