Women and Minorities Underrepresented in Academic Cardiothoracic Surgery: It's Time for Next Steps.

Abstract Background Women and ethnic/racial minorities are underrepresented among U.S. physicians, but there is limited data on cardiothoracic surgery diversity. This study characterizes current racial/ethnic and gender diversity in academic cardiothoracic surgery. Methods Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and Association of American Medical Colleges databases were queried for racial/ethnic and gender demographics of residents and faculty. Cardiothoracic surgery was compared to other surgical subspecialties and medicine overall. Results 17% of cardiothoracic faculty were women, compared to 27% of surgical faculty (p Conclusions Women and racial/ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented among trainees and faculty in academic cardiothoracic surgery compared to surgery and medicine overall, demonstrating a need for concerted action.