60 Years After the First Women Cardiac Surgeon: We Still Need More Women in Cardiac Surgery

Abstract In 1960, Dr. Nina Starr Braunwald became the first woman to perform open heart surgery. Sixty years later, despite women outnumbering men in American medical school in 2017, men still dominate cardiac surgery. Women surgeons remain underrepresented in cardiac surgery - 11% of practicing cardiac surgeons in Canada were women in 2015 and 6% of practicing adult cardiac surgeons in the US were women in 2019. While women remain a minority in other surgical specialties, cardiothoracic surgery remains one of the most unevenly gender distributed specialties. Why are there so few women cardiac surgeons and why does it matter? Evidence is emerging regarding the benefits of diversity for a variety of industries including healthcare. In order to attract and retain the best talent, we must make cardiac surgery a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. Some causes perpetuating the gender gap have been documented in the literature, including uneven compensation or career advancement opportunities and outdated views on family dynamics resulting in disproportionate scrutiny of women surgeons, overall causing additional workplace frictions for women. Diversity is an organizational strength and gender-diverse institutions are more likely to outperform their non-gender diverse counterparts. Modifiable issues perpetuate the gender gap, and mentorship is key in helping attract, develop, and retain the best and brightest to cardiac surgery. Facilitating mentorship opportunities will be key in reducing barriers and bridging the gap.