WOFAPS 2025 8th World Congress of Pediatric Surgery

Hannah Luz ¹, Julia Haehl ², Clara Luz ³, Sabine Zundel ¹

¹ Children's Hospital of Central Switzerland, Lucerne, Switzerland
² Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital, Munich, Germany
³ The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, England

Background:
Social media movements like #ILookLikeASurgeon highlight the lack of visibility of women in the traditionally male-dominated field of pediatric surgery. This gender career gap is evident not only generally but also in academic and leadership roles. The “glass ceiling” and “leaky pipeline” metaphors describe how women face career barriers. With an impending surgeon shortage in the US and Europe, identifying and fixing these leaks is crucial to retaining qualified staff and maintaining high-quality care.

With this study we aim to analyze the current situation and determine possible solutions.

Methods:
We conducted a web-based survey with up to 21 questions, distributed worldwide via pediatric surgery associations and LinkedIn. A total of 185 pediatric surgeons participated (35% male, 65% female) from North America, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Data were analyzed using Excel, Stata, and NVivo.

Results:
1) Seventy-four percent of female respondents believed gender impacts career opportunities, compared to 32% of males. Seventy-seven percent of women felt disadvantaged by gender, while 57% of men perceived no difference.

2) Sexual discrimination was reported by 93% of women and 50% of men; sexual harassment by 42% of women and 26% of men. Men were more likely to reduce work for childcare (71% vs. 29%), but women took longer parental leave (average 38 vs. 10 months).

3) Parenthood affected women’s career goals more significantly.

4) Proposed solutions included improved parental leave policies for all genders, part-time work options, and mentorship programs to promote women.

Conclusion:
Gender inequality in pediatric surgery manifests in career advancement disparities, discrimination, and the impact of parenthood. Addressing these issues requires focused institutional and policy changes to close the gender gap and ensure a high-qualified future workforce.