Sex and racial diversity in Canadian academic surgery

Abstract

To ensure equitable representation of women and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, person of colour) individuals in surgical specialties, it is first necessary to understand the presence and extent of the disparities that exist. We explored the websites of the 17 Canadian faculties of medicine to examine sex and racial diversity in surgical specialties and in surgical leadership positions in Canada. We categorized faculty members of each department of surgery as either male or female and White or BIPOC. The relative percentage of female academic surgeons was very low compared with Canadian demographic data, and the relative percentage of BIPOC academic surgeons was similar to Canadian demographic data. Our observations suggest that actions must be taken to improve diversity and inclusion in surgery.