Diversity in the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

To assess the epidemiology of women and underrepresented minorities (URMs; Hispanic, African American, and Native American) in the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS).

An observational retrospective study of living ASOPRS members was identified through the ASOPRS member directory, search engine-driven informatics, and direct communication. Members were profiled for gender, race, geographic location, and academic rank (or not). The percentage of women and URMs in the society over time was also assessed.

The authors identified 617 living ASOPRS members as of June 2017. Of these, 109 (17.7%) were female and 58 (9.4%) were URMs. Surgeons completed fellowships from 1961 (male) or 1973 (female) until 2015. Women members significantly increased from 7 (4.9% of the total) before 1986 to 24 (30.4%) between 2011 and 2015 (last 5 years). URMs significantly increased over time, with 0 female and 5 (3.4%) male minorities before 1985 to 5 (6.3%) females and 13 (16.5%) males within the last 5 years (p < 0.05). With only 1 female and 3 male members, African American representation was sparse. ASOPRS members were not found in 5 states and were most represented in California, New York, Florida, and Texas. Among ASOPRS members in full-time academic positions, women tended to have lower rank compared to men; however, after controlling for number of years post-fellowship, this finding was narrowly not statistically significant (p = 0.0624). There were no academic differences with URMs and nonminority groups.

Women and URMs have increased steadily in ASOPRS, especially in recent years. Similar to the rest of ophthalmology and general medicine, there remain opportunities for ASOPRS to increase diversity.