CORR Insights®: Chair Versus Chairman: Does Orthopaedics Use the Gendered Term More Than Other Specialties?

Abstract

Here’s a riddle many of us have heard: A father and his son are in a car crash. The father is killed. The son is taken to the hospital. Just as he’s rushed to the operating room the surgeon says: “I can’t operate. That boy is my son!” How can this be? The fact that it is not immediately evident to most of us that the surgeon is the boy’s mother, underscores the enduring impact of gendered occupational terms. Surgeon is one of many genderspecific job titles (like pilot, firefighter, foreman, nurse, and midwife) that conjures up a specific gender stereotype. If the gender of an individual is not typically associated with a given profession, we use statements of exemption such as “female-surgeon” or “male-nurse”, implying an outlier, or inferior member of that profession. I’m using the terms “female-surgeon” and “male-nurse” here because they are the common parlance for those particular professions, even though language of gender would be more appropriate in light of the fact that we’re discussing social roles here, rather than anything to do with biology (that is woman and man, rather than female and male, would be the preferred words) [5]. The gendered nature of occupations is pervasive, particularly in leadership positions in academic medicine where the title “chairman” is germane. The suffix “-man” comes from the Old English word for “person”, which in present-day English has become predominantly masculine [4]. The term “chairman” is under scrutiny as a possible source of gender bias in the current article by Peck and colleagues [10]. Exclusionary language hinders diversity in the workforce and perpetuates gender disparity [6]. This paper found that the gendered term “chairman” is used more frequently in orthopaedics than in many other medical specialties. It is well established that gender diversity in medicine benefits our patients and the organizations in which we work. According to a 2018 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, “when health care providers have life experience that more closely matches the experience of their patients, patients tend to be more satisfied with their care and to adhere to medical advice. This effect has been seen in studies ... when the demographics of health care providers reflect those of underserved populations” [7]. Furthermore, diverse organizations are more successful—companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have returns above the industry mean [12]. Although historically a field dominated bymen, women are now entering medicine in increasing numbers. Since the 1972 enactment of Title IX, the number of women enrolled in US medical schools has drastically increased from 10% in 1970 to more than 50% today [2]. The greatest number of women in medicine are in internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology. In some specialties the percentage of women exceeds that of men such as in pediatrics and This CORR Insights is a commentary on the article “Chair Versus Chairman: Does orthopaedics Use the Gendered Term More Than Other Specialties?” by Peck and colleagues available at: DOI: 10.1097/CORR. 0000000000000964. The author certifies that neither she, nor any members of her immediate family, have any commercial associations (such as consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. The opinions expressed are those of the writers, and do not reflect the opinion or policy of CORR or The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons. A. Abdeen MD, FRCSC (✉), Harvard Medical School, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Stoneman 10, Boston, MA 02494 USA, Email: aabdeen@ bidmc.harvard.edu