Challenges to women surgeons in Asia

There’s a huge amount of data regarding the experience of women surgeons in Asia. Many Asian countries have a high gender gap index that makes the work of some women in surgery difficult. Specifically, in Malaysia, the first woman doctor graduated in 1961 and the first woman surgeon in 1970. Bearing in mind that there are 140 hospital services in the country, only 9 women are heads of surgery. Likewise, women represent only 15% of general surgeons, and in non-surgeon specialization indexes are even lower. There is clearly a gender index gap in the surgery world. Dr. April Roslani points out that the gender gap is a consequence of the lack of supportive institutional systems. Moreover, suppressive statements and sexual harassment affect female surgeon trainees and female surgeons. Institutional policies have recently been enhanced to ensure that new measures are implemented. These new measures recognize the rights of women surgeons in terms of equality. However, the obstacles to female surgeons are real, and that is why we need a policy change and early intervention. This Masterclass was part of the webinar Challenges and Solutions in Healthcare to Diversity, published on March 4, 2021 on aischannel.com