Jesús Q Beltrán1, Elizabeth Ogando-Rivas2, Barbara Nettel-Rueda3, Francisco Velasco-Campos4, José L Navarro-Olvera4, Gustavo Aguado-Carrillo4, José A Soriano-Sánchez5, Armando Alpizar-Aguirre6, José D Carrillo-Ruiz7. 1. Unit for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico; Direction of Research, General Hospital of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico. 2. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA; Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. 3. Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Mexico City, Mexico. 4. Unit for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico. 5. Spine Clinic, The American-British Cowdray Medical Center IAP, Campus Santa Fe, Mexico City, Mexico. 6. Spine Surgery Service, National Institute of Rehabilitation, Mexico City, Mexico. 7. Unit for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico; Direction of Research, General Hospital of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico; Direction of Faculty of Health Sciences, Anahuac University, Mexico City, Mexico. Electronic address: josecarrilloruiz@yahoo.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: History has taught us that Mexican culture has been largely supported by women, despite gender prejudice from the society. Neurosurgery has not been the exception. Therefore, we investigated the challenges and influence of female neurosurgeons in Mexico. METHODS: We conducted a review of the literature and an analysis of the internal database of the Mexican Society of Neurological Surgery focusing on 3 topics: 1) the historical presence of women and gender inequality in Mexico; 2) the life and legacy of the woman who became the first neurosurgeon in Mexico and in Latin America; and 3) the participation of women in neurosurgery in the past 3 decades. RESULTS: In Latin America, the first woman in neurosurgery was María Cristina García-Sancho, who completed her neurosurgical training in 1951. Currently, women represent 6.2% of the total members of the Mexican Society of Neurological Surgery (MSNS). This percentage is still low, although data collected in this study suggest that it might increase in the next few years because 16.7% of Board Directors of the MSNS are women, the next elected president is a female neurosurgeon, and 14.5% of neurosurgery residents are women. CONCLUSIONS: Although a steady increase has occurred of women in neurosurgery in Mexico, there is still work to do, especially to overcome the barriers related to the old assumptions of the cultural and social roles of women.
BACKGROUND: History has taught us that Mexican culture has been largely supported by women, despite gender prejudice from the society. Neurosurgery has not been the exception. Therefore, we investigated the challenges and influence of female neurosurgeons in Mexico. METHODS: We conducted a review of the literature and an analysis of the internal database of the Mexican Society of Neurological Surgery focusing on 3 topics: 1) the historical presence of women and gender inequality in Mexico; 2) the life and legacy of the woman who became the first neurosurgeon in Mexico and in Latin America; and 3) the participation of women in neurosurgery in the past 3 decades. RESULTS: In Latin America, the first woman in neurosurgery was María Cristina García-Sancho, who completed her neurosurgical training in 1951. Currently, women represent 6.2% of the total members of the Mexican Society of Neurological Surgery (MSNS). This percentage is still low, although data collected in this study suggest that it might increase in the next few years because 16.7% of Board Directors of the MSNS are women, the next elected president is a female neurosurgeon, and 14.5% of neurosurgery residents are women. CONCLUSIONS: Although a steady increase has occurred of women in neurosurgery in Mexico, there is still work to do, especially to overcome the barriers related to the old assumptions of the cultural and social roles of women.
Authors: José Damián Carrillo-Ruiz; Armando Armas-Salazar; José Luis Navarro-Olvera; Jesús Q Beltrán; Brigham Bowles; Guillermo González-Garibay; Ángel Lee Journal: Front Surg Date: 2022-05-09