Fifteen-Year Trends in Participation of Women in Presentation and Leadership Positions in the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, 2006-2020

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES The implementation of integrated vascular surgery training programs was recently shown to be associated with an increase in women entering the field. However, whether this has precipitated a subsequent increase in the active participation of women in academic vascular societies remains unclear. We sought to examine the trends of academic inclusion of women vascular surgeons and surgical trainees over the past fifteen years at the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery (SAVS). METHODS Scientific programs for annual meetings of the SAVS, and program matriculation statistics from the ACGME, were reviewed for the period 2006-2020. Yearly rates and three-year averages of conference and society participation and vascular surgery training program matriculation rates were calculated and compared with proportion testing. Spearman’s correlation testing was used to compare trends, with ρ ≥0.600 defined as a strong correlation. RESULTS Examining 3 year means, the average number of women authors per SAVS abstract increased from 0.78 to 1.42 over the course of the study period (p CONCLUSION Participation of women authoring and presenting papers at the SAVS has increased over the past 15 years at a rate that strongly correlates with the increasing rate of women entering vascular surgery training programs. It is important that society leadership opportunities continue to parallel this trend as we seek to further improve diversity in vascular surgery.