Presence of Women at U.S. Head and Neck Society Meetings Has Increased but Disparity Persists

by Linda Kossoff •

Has the proportion of female speakers at the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) increased in a manner consistent with the numbers of women entering fellowships since 2007?

BOTTOM LINE

Although the presence of women at ANHS has increased overall and reflects changing demographics, a strong disparity continues to exist for preeminent speaking opportunities.

BACKGROUND: Increased numbers of women are entering medicine, otolaryngology, and head and neck surgical oncology, yet they are still disproportionately represented in leadership roles. High-profile speaker roles at national meetings can advance and promote their careers and provide needed role modeling and mentorship for women starting out.

COMMENT: It’s well recognized that disparities exist in academic medicine and that women are underrepresented as speakers at academic conferences. It’s encouraging that over the 13 years included in this study, there was a significant increase in the number of women speakers at AHNS meetings. However, the authors found that strong disparities continue to exist. Remarkably, of 45 named lecturers and keynote speakers at AHNS meetings over the study period, only two were women.. —Andres Bur, MD

STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative study.

SETTING: Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.

SYNOPSIS: Researchers analyzed 13 programs for meetings between 2007 and 2019. Of the 4,059 invited speakers/presenters, 902 were women (22%). Excluding presenters for oral abstracts, which are accepted based on merit and judged anonymously, there were 2,096 opportunities for invited speaking roles, of which 400 were listed as belonging to female presenters (19.1%); only 131 individual women accounted for these 400 opportunities. Women comprised 502 of 1,963 oral abstract presenters (26%), 88 of 521 scientific session moderators (16.9%), 233 of 1,129 expert panelists (20.6%), and 82 of 401 miscellaneous moderators (21.7%). (Author notes that oral abstracts are accepted on merit and judged anonymously.) All 25 national keynote speakers were male (100%), and two of 20 international keynote speakers were women (10%). This finding is congruent with other otolaryngology national meetings. From 2007 to 2010, 19% of speakers were female; from 2016 to 2019, 31% were female. Authors note that this is promising, as only 25% of active AHNS membership is female, but further effort and attention are warranted to address explicit and implicit causes of disparity. Study limitations included the reliance on internet searches to determine gender.

CITATION: Brandi MH, Howell R, Power A, et al. Trends in number of women speakers at the American Head and Neck Society meetings, 2007–2019. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Published online ahead of print July 24, 2021.