Gender representation in the Central Surgical Association: A call to action

Organizations such as the Central Surgical Association are important for promulgating advances in general surgery, but diversity and inclusion profoundly affect what is presented and discussed. The objective of this study was to evaluate gender representation trends at the Central Surgical Association and its annual meetings over the past 13 years.

Publicly available Central Surgical Association meeting proceedings from 2010 to 2022 were reviewed for society leaders, new members, invited speakers and moderators, and contributors to scientific sessions (first authors, senior authors). Gender identity was assessed through professional online platforms. The 2017 and 2021 meetings were conjoined with the Midwest Surgical Association. Incomplete data were obtained from 2013 and 2020-2022.

A total of 2,158 individuals were reviewed, 554 (25.7%) of which were women. The overall trend of the absolute proportion of women participation increased by 1.8% per year (R² = 0.7, P < .01). For leadership roles, 42/205 (20%) were women, with a 2.4% per year increase (R² = 0.45, P = .02). For speaker roles, 82/384 (21.4%) were women, with a 2.2% increase per year (R² = 0.6, P < .01). For scientific contributions, 253 first (35.9%) and 136 (19.3%) senior authors of 704 were women, with 1.5% (R² = 0.4, P = .02) and 1.3% (R² = 0.4, P = .03) increase per year, respectively.

There has been a positive trend in women's involvement at Central Surgical Association meetings for leaders, speakers, and scientific authors. Diversity allows variate experiences to contribute to surgical advancements; thus, measures by the Central Surgical Association to ensure adequate representation should continue.