Women in otorhinolaryngology; their challenges and perspective: a cross-sectional study

The present study investigates the representation of women in the Otolaryngology department in a tertiary academic hospital, and the challenges they face during their residencies. A questionnaire which included demographic information and a series of 54-questions of academic, clinical, social, psychological, and private practice challenges was electronically distributed among female residents registered in the Department of Otolaryngology in the last 10 years (2013–2022) throughout November 2023 to January 2024. Eighty-one female residents out of 103 registered (78.6%) responded to the distributed questionnaire highlighting the challenges they faced during their training period. The current study addresses the barriers confronted by female residents in the department as well as identifying potential solutions that might help future encouragement of women to select otolaryngology as their specialty.