Dr. Nancy Gantt

Empowering Women Surgeons: Challenges, Advantages, and Mentorship Dynamics

Women surgeons around the world face many challenges in their journey toward successful surgical careers. Traditional surgical training offers little flexibility for pregnancy and raising children, while significant disparities often exist in salary and grant funding between male and female surgeons. Bias against women surgeons, both professionally and culturally, also limits their advancement and assumption of leadership roles. Mentorship by other women surgeons can be instrumental in overcoming professional obstacles, however a dearth of senior women surgeons regionally can hamper this. The Association of Women Surgeons is honored to partner with the AIS Channel and present a panel of international women surgeons to discuss the unique challenges they face as surgeons, mentors and mentees.

With American College of Surgeons

Microaggressions in the Surgical Workplace - DE&I Series

The surgical workplace requires rapid processing of a wide range of data from multiple sources. Surgical teams depend on information exchange, pattern recognition, cohesion, and the mutual respect and trust of fellow team members to make complex surgical decisions. When the health system seeks to provide surgical care within a social ecosystem that embodies a caste infrastructure, the result is a significant weakness in the delivery of high-quality care. Caste systems are grounded in historically ingrained inequalities rooted in the belief that certain groups of people are inferior based on gender, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Leaders of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) will present new and revealing research and personal stories that underscore how microaggressions in the surgical workforce serve to hinder health systems and patient outcomes. The panel session will elaborate on past challenges, and of equal importance, suggest potential solutions to forge a path forward including allyship.

With Johnson & Johnson MedTech

Pregnancy, Parenting and Parity, Supporting Surgeons Personally and Professionally

Women surgeons are increasing in numbers and a critical component of the surgical workforce. At the same time, women are the bearers of children and may continue to bear majority responsibility for raising children to adulthood. It is essential for the profession to improve support of pregnant and parenting surgeons through policies and pathways that promote flexibility and parity for all. This AIS Channel session will discuss some of the issues and solutions for successful navigation of this challenge.