The SICOT Women in Orthopaedics (WiO) symposium titled “Navigating challenges in orthopaedic diversity as SICOT was moderated by Ece Cinar (Turkey) and Samundeeswari Saseendar (India).

                 Left to right: Ece Cinar (Turkey) & Samudeeswar Saseendar (India) & Margaret Fok (Hong Kong)                 

The session kicked off with Margaret Fok (Hong Kong), SICOT Education Academy Chair, giving the introductory remarks.

Derya Akbaba (Turkey) (above) gave an insightful talk on gender gap in orthopaedics. She highlighted that Scandinavian countries exhibit the highest levels of female representation in orthopaedics with approximately 23-30% surgeons unlike 0.4% female surgeons in the Asia Pacific countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman and Pakistan. A viscous cycle ensues with poor female representation leading to reduced numbers during training, reduced pay and leadership roles.

Manon Pigeolet (USA) (above) shared her views on Early career women in orthopaedics across cultures - challenges and opportunities.

Ece Cinar (Turkey/UK) (above) shared her personal journey as a single female orthopod trainee abroad, highlighting educational barriers and mentorship gaps, prioritizing wellbeing amidst hypocrisy and dealing with professional loneliness. She concluded with a clarion call to enhance accessibility in orthopaedics and ultimately transform orthopaedics to a more equitable specialty.

Samudeeswari Saseendar (India) (above) talked about the future of diversity in SICOT emphasizing the current landscape and multifactorial barriers to diversity including belief systems, lack of role models and mentorship. She highlighted the promotion of diversity beyond gender, to foster an all-inclusive and collaborative organisation.

Full articles of each talk will be featured shortly….Stay tuned!!