What matters in neurosurgery does not always begin as a line-item initiative. Gender diversity is a maturing focus within our specialty. If the past half-century suggests our trajectory, then we can call women’s presence in neurosurgery a steady upward trend. These shifts do not happen passively; the focused labor of solo visionaries is now cemented into targeted organizations, such as Women in Neurosurgery (WINS) and augmented by other important initiatives, like the CNS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and the AANS Diversity Committee, amongst many others. However, these organizations have emerged as icebergs concealing the thought, intention and tactical planning that exist below the surface and are required to modify our demographic landscape.
WINS specifically began by organizing one-on-one relationships: Women (as well as some noteworthy men) mentoring women to navigate the challenges inherent to the neurosurgical workforce. Today, our formal mentorship program pairs faculty, residents and medical students for focused networking and career support. Last year, nearly 200 applicants participated in our formal longitudinal mentorship program. Hundreds more participate in our “Mentorship in a Minute” pairings during annual meetings.
Mentorship initiatives such as these diversify neurosurgery by intentional engagement from women, with women. However, it is a separate line of inquiry to increase the visibility and success of women within the neurosurgical landscape at large. Some of our work on this challenge is traditional in scope, such as hosting events at major neurosurgery meetings. These are opportunities for us to combine career development education, leadership skills and in-person mentorship within our community.
WINS is also increasing engagement through a carefully cultivated, lively virtual community. Visibility through social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, as well as a regular host of Zoom-based events serve as an important platform for WINS social and educational content. And we are being seen: Within one year, the WINS X platform gained more than 1.5k followers with some posts receiving more than 23k views. This visibility reinforces the face of women within neurosurgery to our local community with the potential to reach far beyond our scope.
In these and other WINS actions, it matters that we continue striving for inclusivity without creating exclusivity. Much of our content is built through intentional search for education gaps and is thus non-gender selective. Our WINS Medical Student Committee and Resident Committee are testaments to this: These groups host regular Zoom forums that provide medical students with practical information for neurosurgery residency applications. Hundreds of students join in these practical discussions, and all participants become part of the WINS virtual community, which comprises, for some, their first interactions with organized neurosurgery.
Today, the WINS community is seeing movement towards the change it sought create: Women make approximately 19% of all residents, an increase from only a handful within recent memory. Motivation, engagement, advocacy and evidence-backed research moved us to this point, and onward. And this is not unique to our aims at WINS. Any worthy effort within large, complex communities requires persistence. Outcomes do matter in this space: Neurosurgery’s future is our responsibility. The infrastructure we build will create the workforce of today and tomorrow. The paradigm-shifting changes we enact will define and perhaps ensure our future. And in doing these things, we demonstrate not just by word or by vision statement, but by example, what really matters to neurosurgery.
Lauren E Stone, MD
