Women in the European Stroke Organisation: One, two, many… - A Top Down and Bottom Up approach

Gender Gap in the Leadership of Health Institutions: The Influence of Hospital-Level Factors

Objective: To analyze whether the increased representation of women in the health field is accompanied by a greater presence in leadership positions in the public health system and whether there are differences according to the hospital level.

Methods: A descriptive study of the distribution of leadership positions by sex and type of hospital within the health centers of a regional public health system.

Results: In total, 74.01% of the professionals were women. The representation of women in management positions was 33.1%, and among service chiefs, it was 24.01%. In the service headings, we observed that surgical specialties had a lower representation of women (30.9% in medical specialties vs. 18.1% in surgical specialties, p<0.0001). By type of hospital, no differences were found in the management positions, but there were differences in the medical chiefs, with less female representation in the regional hospitals (28.6% vs. 39.7%, p=0.003).

Conclusion: Women represent the majority in the public health system. Nonetheless, their representation in positions of greater responsibility and decision-making is very limited, being particularly low in county hospitals. Increasing female representation in these positions is a current challenge for society, and equality policies need to be developed and applied to minimize this gender gap.

Female insertion in neurosurgery: Evolution of a stigma break

BACKGROUND

Utilizing the Brazilian Medical Demography analysis and a literature review, we evaluated how women choose to become neurosurgeons in Brazil and around the world, specifically citing the Europe, the USA, India, and Japan.

METHODS

We utilized the Brazilian Medical Demography prepared by the Federal Council of Medicine and the Regional Council of Medicine of the State of São Paulo (2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018). We also included an evaluation of 20 articles from PubMed, the Scientific Electronic Library Online, and National Health Library databases (e.g., using descriptors "Women in neurosurgery" and "Career").

RESULTS

In Brazil in 2017, women comprised 45.6% of active doctors, but only 8.6% of all neurosurgeons. Of 20 articles identified in the literature, 50% analyzed the factors that influenced how women choose neurosurgery, 40% dealt with gender differences, while just 10% included an analysis of what it is like to be a female neurosurgeon in different countries/continents.

CONCLUSION

The participation of women in neurosurgery has increased in recent years despite the persistence of gender inequality and prejudice. More women need to be enabled to become neurosurgeons as their capabilities, manual dexterity, and judgment should be valued to improve the quality of neurosurgical health-care delivery.

How to Be Savvy About Gender Disparities in Academic Stroke Medicine: Five Practical Strategies

In the past decade, stroke medicine has evolved from discovery of innovative diagnostic tools to implementation of new treatments. These advances are projected to increase the demand for stroke neurologists in academic and clinical practices, but hopefully with equitable opportunities for everyone across the gender spectrum. Academic medicine provides opportunities to participate in clinical care, teaching, research, and administration. The early career stage is short-focused on finding an academic niche and developing new skills that will help you navigate the academic environment. A recent InterSECT article emphasized the critical role of women's leadership in stroke medicine. In this article, we reflect on workforce gender disparities and provide 5 practical strategies that may help women overcome barriers and advance their work mission.