A snapshot of female representation in the presentation of orthopaedic research, an Australian perspective

Background

The gender disparity in the field of orthopaedic surgery is globally recognized. In Australia, the percentage of female orthopaedic surgeons is currently 5.5% while the percentage of trainees is 18.9%. The Australian Orthopaedic Association's annual scientific meeting (ASM) program represents one way to visualize gender diversity within orthopaedics. This study aims to quantify the representation of women in national orthopaedic research presentations.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of ASM presentations from 2021 to 2023. Presenter information was obtained from available published scientific programs. Presenter gender was classified by first name as a binary construct using a combination of biography, internet, registration, and the website Gender API (https://gender-api.com). The proportion of female versus male presenters and moderators was determined and gender trends between topics was analysed.

Results

Of 936 research presentations given across the 3 years, 15.9% were given by females. The topic areas with the highest percentage of female speakers were paediatrics (42.1%) and hand (25.0%), with the lowest percentage in shoulder and elbow (10.3%) and spine (3.8%). The proportion of female session moderators averaged 20.2%. There was no difference in number of presentations given or sessions moderated per person with regard to gender.

Conclusions

This is the first paper to investigate gender disparity in the presentation of orthopaedic research in Australia. The percentage of female participation is low, however remains in proportion with female representation within the speciality. Increasing numbers of visible female presenters will serve to improve the gender landscape within orthopaedics.