Women in Surgery Program

Welcome to the UC San Diego Department of Surgery Women in Surgery Website.

Over the last four decades significant progress has been made in the representation of women in the medical profession. Since 1970, the percentage of active US physicians who are female has steadily increased from just under 8% to 30.4% in 2010. Women account for almost half of all residents/fellows. Furthermore, in 2008 and 2009, women represented 48 percent of the total applicants, matriculants, and enrollments to medical schools.

However, there still remains a glass ceiling in academic medicine- female surgeons looking to attain full professorship. Women continue to be underrepresented at the rank of full professor and in leadership positions, compared to men. According to research by Colleen Brophy, MD at Vanderbilt, women comprise less than a third of the surgeons who advance to senior ranks.

We hope that this website will be a resource for addressing gender issues in surgery. "With women comprising almost half of all medical students today, men are collaborating with women more often, mentoring them or working under their leadership. Resolving gender issues in the fields of medicine and surgery can only happen if everyone involved speaks a common language," Sonia Ramamoorthy, MD, associate professor of surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.