Introduction: More than half of medical students are women, but a smaller portion of neurosurgical residents and attendings are female. Women have lower entry rates and higher attrition rates compared to males (17% vs 5.3%). We sought to identify current trends in residency programs and academic neurosurgery departments.

Methods: Publicly available resources were surveyed to assess the number of women applying to neurosurgery, in residency, and serving as leaders.

Results: From 2012–2016, 19% of applicants / year to neurosurgical residency programs were female. Women make up 17.5% (on average) of the corresponding classes of allopathic neurosurgical residents (p=0.0675). Currently there are 3 programs with >50% female residents and 45 with >20%, while 9 programs have 0 female residents (8.8%, 44.1%, and 2.9% of programs respectively). The leadership of residency programs is mainly male – 3 female department chairs (2 interim; 2.8%) and 7 female program directors (6.5%). Editorial boards remain predominantly male (JNS 0% female, JNS: Spine 0% female, JNS: Pediatrics 17% female, combined 5.7% female). The American Board of Neurological Surgeons has 1 female on the Board of Directors (7.1%), while the American Board of Pediatric Neurosurgeons has 0. From 1990-2016, the list of officers emeritus of the ABNS has included 1 female (1.6%). The Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS) is 5.6% female; but all 5 officers and 17 of 20 executives of the SNS leadership are males, with females as 9% of standing committees. However, women made up a significant percentage of new members in 2015 and 2016 (13.6%).

Conclusions: Recently, more women are entering neurosurgery and more are ascending to leadership positions; however there is still significant disparity at the top. Advancement to these senior positions requires years of commitment, so we will likely see more gains as the current generation of neurosurgeons, with more females, increases in seniority.

Patient Care: As neurosurgeons we seek to attract and retain the best applicants to our field. Exploring the current state of our speciality will allow us to determine if their are barriers to the advancement of women and understand what those barriers are and when they play a role in the careers of female neurosurgeons.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this presentation the viewer should be able to describe the current state of women in neurosurgery, both at the resident and faculty level.

References: Renfrow et al. "Positive trends in neurosurgery enrollment and attrition: analysis of the 2000-2009 female neurosurgery resident cohort." JNS (2016) 124: 834-9. WINS White Paper Committee. "The future of neurosurgery: a white paper on the recruitment and retention of women in neurosurgery." JNS. (2008) 109: 378-86.