Is a Simple Checklist Associated With Improvement in Gender Representation at the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting?

In September 2017, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) added 2 questions querying panel organizers if gender/racial diversity was considered in selecting panel presenters, beginning with the 2018 Annual Meeting (AM). This study examines how this checklist impacted the gender diversity of panel presenters at the AAO-HNS AM.

This was a cross-sectional investigation comparing female representation before and after the addition of questions inquiring about diversity in 2018.

A review of abstract submissions for the AMs from 2015 to 2021.

AM Official Program Abstracts were used to obtain presenter names and specialty area for each panel. The percentage of female presenters, in total and stratified by specialty area, were compared before and after 2018 to quantify changes following the addition of the checklist.

There was a significant increase in the proportion of female panel presenters from 22.3% (total n = 1199) in 2015 to 2017 to 33.0% (total n = 1868) in 2018 to 2021 (P < .001) and in all panel specialties. The number of female moderated panels also significantly increased after checklist implementation from 22% to 38% (P < .001). Correspondingly, the number of panels with no female representation decreased from 42% in 2015 to 2017 to 23% in 2018 to 2021 (P < .001).

The addition of a checklist asking panel organizers to consider diversity in selecting panelists was associated with an increased proportion of female presenters at the AM. This simple strategy can be implemented by all medical conferences to help close the gender gap.