Women in academic surgery: why is the playing field still not level?

Seemann, Natashia M.; Webster, Fiona; Holden, Helen Alyx; Moulton, Carol‐Anne; Baxter, Nancy N.; Desjardins, Christine; Cil, Tulin

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2015.08.036

Cited by 142 publications

(151 citation statements)

References 24 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: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Previous quantitative research of female surgeons in the US has shown they perceive being treated differently (i.e. less favourably) than comparable men (Lebares, Braun, Guvva, Espel, & Hecht, 2018;Salles, Milam, Cohen, & Mueller, 2018;Seemann et al, 2016) and report feeling excluded and isolated, particularly in early career . There is also evidence they are evaluated less positively than men during surgical residency (Gerull, Loe, Seiler, McAllister, & Salles, 2019).…”

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…This meant that female surgeons had to engage in more self-monitoring and self-management in interactions with others, including ensuring their appearance and manner signalled appropriate female 'respectability' while not drawing attention to their femininity or sexuality (e.g. Motherhood and caregiving seem particularly difficult to reconcile with a surgical career (Cassel, 1998;Seemann et al, 2016;Wallace, 2014) as both are 'greedy institutions' (Coser, 1974cited in Cassell 1998and Tsouroufli, 2018b) the gendered norms of which demand undivided attention and personal presence. A pregnant surgeon was considered 'unspeakably wrong' because it offended the ideal of a surgeon as invulnerable and independent (Cassel, 1998, p. 189).…”

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A pregnant surgeon was considered 'unspeakably wrong' because it offended the ideal of a surgeon as invulnerable and independent (Cassel, 1998, p. 189). Motherhood and caregiving seem particularly difficult to reconcile with a surgical career (Cassel, 1998;Seemann et al, 2016;Wallace, 2014) as both are 'greedy institutions' (Coser, 1974cited in Cassell 1998and Tsouroufli, 2018b) the gendered norms of which demand undivided attention and personal presence. And yet, they are also expected to undertake more of the less visible emotional labour, that is to say, pastoral care, support and mentoring of medical students and surgical trainees which Tsouroufli (2018a) refers to as affective feminine pedagogy.…”

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: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender and Professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 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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“…1,2,9,12 It is intriguing to speculate how, in addition to improving performance, this intervention might also reduce burnout and attrition. Yet, in moving forward, caution is warranted, and questions remain.…”

Section: Diana Burgess Phdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can a Brief Values Affirmation Help Achieve Gender Parity Within the Surgical Profession? The Promise and Limitations of “Wise” Interventions

Burgess¹

2016

Journal of Graduate Medical Education

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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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Women in academic surgery: why is the playing field still not level?

Cited by 142 publications

References 24 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

Can a Brief Values Affirmation Help Achieve Gender Parity Within the Surgical Profession? The Promise and Limitations of “Wise” Interventions

Women Surgeons’ Experiences of Interprofessional Workplace Conflict

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