Análise dos Desafios Sociais e Profissionais Enfrentados por Cirurgiãs

Abstract

The wage disparity between men and women in medicine is evident in almost all healthcare systems where it has been assessed, being especially pronounced among surgeons. Much of this wage difference cannot be justified by factors such as lifestyle and career choices. The research objectives include analyzing the specific challenges faced by female surgeons in the professional environment, highlighting gender-related barriers and their implications in medical practice. This is an integrative literature review of a descriptive and explanatory nature. The literature search was conducted by surveying scientific productions using databases available in the Virtual Health Library (VHL): Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and the USA National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE/PubMed). Female surgeons are still a minority worldwide, and highlighting gender differences in surgery is important for understanding and reducing inequalities within the surgical specialty. A cross-sectional study found that female surgeons in Japan have less surgical experience than their male counterparts. Furthermore, the gender disparity in surgical experience tends to increase with years of experience in medium and high-difficulty operations. These findings suggest that the overwhelming lack of women in surgical leadership and management positions is associated with the lack of equal opportunities for surgical training. Studies indicate that female surgeons may achieve more favorable clinical outcomes despite operating under more challenging conditions, such as a lack of experience due to disparity in training and the use of inadequately sized instruments for their hands.