Women in Irish Orthopaedics - A Review of Female Representation at the Irish Orthopaedic Association Annual Meeting over a 16-year Period

Introduction: There is underrepresentation of women in orthopaedics worldwide. As of 2017, 10 % of Irish orthopaedic consultants and 12.24 % of higher specialist trainees were female. Workplace diversity can promote innovation, creativity, and encourage staff retention. To realise these benefits, it is quoted that there must be 30 % minority representation. We examine the representation of women in academic orthopaedics in Ireland by looking at gender breakdown at the Irish Orthopaedic Association (IOA) annual conference.

Methods: IOA programmes from 2008 to 2023 were examined assessing for representation of women. Non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHD's), session chairs and guest speakers were examined. Linear regression analysis for male and female speakers was performed to evaluate for statistical significance.

Results: Fourteen annual conferences were evaluated equating to 740 NCHD-delivered oral presentations. Women delivered 126 presentations (17.03 %). While there was a general trend of increasing female representation over the years examined, linear regression analysis did not show this to be statistically significant (Coefficient: 0.3746, P-value: 0.077, R: 0.237). There was a statistically significant decline in male speakers (Coefficient: 1.9775, P-value: 0.007, R: 0.473). 41 guest lectures were delivered, 14.63 % by women. Session chairs were disclosed for 7 meetings equating to 54 sessions presided over by 79 chairs. Six chairs were female (7.59 %).

Conclusion: Orthopaedics is likely to be better served by more diverse workforces that are representative of their populations. Our study highlights that while gender disparity persists in Irish academic orthopaedics, there appears to be a shift towards diversity. This is particularly evident at trainee level over the past 7 years; however, efforts should be made to support these into leadership roles where women are currently underrepresented. Their visibility can then serve as inspiration for future female trainees.