The erasure of gender in academic surgery: a qualitative study

Webster, Fiona; Rice, Kathleen; Christian, Jennifer; Seemann, Natashia M.; Baxter, Nancy N.; Moulton, Carol Anne; Cil, Tulin

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2016.06.006

Cited by 58 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Previous literature on women and surgery has identified problems combining work with motherhood, and the less favourable treatment they report experiencing in interactions and in formal and informal systems of networking, mentoring and performance evaluation Gerull et al, 2019;Lebares et al, 2018;Salles et al, 2018;Seemann et al, 2016;Wallace, 2014;Webster et al, 2016;Tsouroufli, 2018aTsouroufli, , 2018b. Our study extends this body of work by explicitly applying a 'rationality of caring' (Davies, 1995;Waerness, 1984) lens to generate new insights.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…But it was also generated through their disturbance of the 'gendered order' within hospitals whereby the routine, 'caring work' normally undertaken by clerical and nursing staff for (male) surgeons was not extended to them in the same way (cf Webster et al, 2016). But it was also generated through their disturbance of the 'gendered order' within hospitals whereby the routine, 'caring work' normally undertaken by clerical and nursing staff for (male) surgeons was not extended to them in the same way (cf Webster et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like Wright (2016), Faulkner (2009) and Webster et al (2016), we aim to explore how female professionals in a specific male-dominated STEMM field explain the gendered contradictions they encounter. Like Wright (2016), Faulkner (2009) and Webster et al (2016), we aim to explore how female professionals in a specific male-dominated STEMM field explain the gendered contradictions they encounter.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many Western countries, including Australia, women in surgery remain in a numerical minority that has not substantially increased over time Tsouroufli et al, 2011;Tsouroufli, 2018aTsouroufli, , 2018bWallace, 2014;Walsh, 2013;Webster et al, 2016). Not coincidentally, its status at the top of the medical hierarchy is unchallenged and it exemplifies the detached, agentic, masculine professional ideal with its simultaneous repression of, and dependence on, care work.…”

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cassell (1996) has argued longstanding dualisms between male and female, mind and body, culture and nature, reason and emotion underpin the (masculinized) ideal of surgeon acting upon and controlling a passive, risky, unstable and vulnerable (femininized) body. Tsouroufli, 2018a;Webster et al, 2016) it has not been the primary conceptual focus. 43-44), and risk appearing 'inauthentic' at the same time as they are highly visible because of their rarity (cf.…”

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contradictions concerning care: Female surgeons' accounts of the repression and resurfacing of care in their profession

Ainsworth

Flanagan

2019

Gender Work & Organization

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Surgery is a high-status, distinctly embodied, profession, dominated by men and saturated with masculine ideals of individual heroism, manual skill and detachment. In this study, we focus on exploring how surgery both represses, but also requires, caring work, creating gendered contradictions for the women that enter its ranks. Based on interviews with eighteen female surgeons from Australia and New Zealand, we apply a 'rationality of caring work' lens to explore how they experienced these contradictions through training, socialization and in everyday interactions. Our findings show inter-related mechanisms whereby female surgeons are required to become more independent and self-reliant than comparable men, but also make up for the systemic lack of care shown to junior staff and students. In particular, their pregnancy and motherhood challenge the ideal of the detached, independent, heroic agent. We conclude by discussing how a 'rationality of caring' lens could help unpack the gendered contradictions women experience in other elite professions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Contradictions concerning care: Female surgeons' accounts of the repression and resurfacing of care in their profession

Ainsworth

Flanagan

2019

Gender Work & Organization

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Women Surgeons’ Experiences of Interprofessional Workplace Conflict

et al. 2020

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IMPORTANCE Gender differences in interprofessional conflict may exist and precipitate differential achievement, wellness, and attrition in medicine. OBJECTIVE Although substantial attention and research has been directed toward improving gender equity in surgery and addressing overall physician wellness, research on the role of interprofessional conflict has been limited. The objective of this study was to understand scenarios driving interprofessional conflict involving women surgeons, the implications of the conflict on personal, professional, and patient outcomes, and how women surgeons navigate conflict adjudication. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A qualitative approach was used to explore the nature, implications, and ways of navigating interprofessional workplace conflict experienced by women surgeons. The setting was a national sample of US women surgeons. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit women surgeons in training or practice from annual surgical society meetings. Participants were eligible if they were currently in a surgical training program or surgical practice. Nearly all participants had experienced at least 1 workplace conflict with a nonphysician staff member resulting in a formal write-up. EXPOSURES A workplace conflict was defined as any conflict resulting in the nonphysician staff member taking action such as confronting the woman surgeon, reporting the event to supervisors, or filing a formal report.

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Assessment of Autonomy in Operative Procedures Among Female and Male New Zealand General Surgery Trainees

et al. 2020

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examining all endoscopic, major, and minor procedures performed by all New Zealand general surgery trainees in every training hospital in New Zealand. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe primary outcome was the level of meaningful autonomy by each New Zealand general surgery trainee (ie, trainee as primary operator without the surgeon mentor scrubbed for the case). Outcomes were compared using multivariable analysis. RESULTSThis study included 120 New Zealand general surgery trainees (42 women [35%] and 78 men [65%]) who were analyzed over 279.5 trainee-years (88.5 trainee-years for women and 191.0 trainee-years for men). Included were 119 380 general surgery procedures (17 465 endoscopic, 56 964 major, and 44 951 minor) in 18 hospitals. By the end of the 5-year training program, female trainees had a lower cumulative mean autonomous caseload than male trainees for endoscopic (284.0 [95% CI, 207.0-361.0] vs 352.2 [95% CI, 282.9-421.6], P = .03), major (139.9 [95% CI,.0], P = .02), and minor (456.3 [95% CI,.9] vs 519.9 [95% CI, 465.6-574.2], P = .007) procedures. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEAfter accounting for differences among trainees, hospital type, number of female and male surgeon mentors at each hospital, and trainee seniority, female trainees performed fewer cases with meaningful autonomy compared with male trainees. These findings support the need for pragmatic solutions to address this bias and further investigations on mechanisms contributing to discrepancies.

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The erasure of gender in academic surgery: a qualitative study

Cited by 58 publications

References 35 publications

Contradictions concerning care: Female surgeons' accounts of the repression and resurfacing of care in their profession

Contradictions concerning care: Female surgeons' accounts of the repression and resurfacing of care in their profession

Women Surgeons’ Experiences of Interprofessional Workplace Conflict

Assessment of Autonomy in Operative Procedures Among Female and Male New Zealand General Surgery Trainees

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