Women as leaders in organized surgery and surgical education. Has the time come?

Women have entered medicine in large numbers during the past three decades, and are increasing their representation in some surgical fields at a rapid pace. Few women are found in senior roles in organized surgery or at the senior ranks of academic surgical faculty. Factors influencing this imbalance include family demands, sexism, and stereotypes that hinder the advancement of women into leadership roles. Strategies for correcting this imbalance include affirmative recruitment of women into surgery, particularly into academic surgical faculties; support systems, such as child care and adjustment of promotion and tenure timetables; mentoring; and programs of career development that emphasize skills in management as well as research and teaching.