Progress without parity: Gender-distribution of cardiothoracic surgical society awards

Cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) remains a men-dominated field where gender equity continues to be a challenge. Despite intentional inclusivity efforts, early-career scholarships from surgical societies have not been systematically evaluated. Because these awards foster mentorship, networking, and academic advancement, we aimed to assess gender distribution trends among recipients to identify disparities and opportunities for improvement.

We performed a cross-sectional, descriptive analysis using publicly available data from the websites of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). Award categories included research fellowships, travel scholarships, leadership programs, and career development awards. Gender identification was inferred through institutional and publication profiles and validated. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed.

Between 1950 and 2030, 1879 scholarships were awarded (AATS: 1011; STS: 868). Overall, 75.25% (1414) were awarded to men and 24.75% (465) to women. STS awarded a greater proportion to women (26.3%, 228) compared with AATS (23.4%, 237). AATS research-focused awards showed marked disparity, with women received only 15.3% (17), whereas STS research awards were more gender-balanced (41.5%, 34 women). From 2005 to 2025, women's representation increased in some years, peaking in 2022 at 33.8% (71/210), but remained inconsistent and dropped in the following years. Several years (eg, 2006, 2012) recorded 0% women recipients.

Despite progress, gender disparities persist in CTS society scholarships. Research and leadership awards remain men dominated, potentially limiting women's academic progression in CTS. Structured equity audits, transparent selection, and targeted or blinded programs could help close the gap.