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ANZSVS Conference 2026
The role of women in changing the landscape of Australian Vascular Surgery: Advancements, Challenges and future directions
Verbal Presentation

Verbal Presentation

1:30 pm

11 September 2026

Bloom Room

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm & Training Future Aortic Surgeons

Disciplines

Vascular Surgery

Presentation Description

Institution: Monash Health - Victoria, Australia

Objectives: The proportion of female doctors in surgery is underrepresented when compared to other medical specialties. The Royal Australian College for Surgeons (RACS) and the Australian and New Zealand Society of Vascular Surgery (ANZSVS) have increased awareness in the importance of gender diversity to create an equitable surgical workforce that reflects community. This study explored the current state of women in Vascular Surgery in Australia and New Zealand, including contributions to Vascular Surgery research. Methods: Demographic data was extracted from the ANZSVS Member 2024 database and Health Workforce Data Australia 2024. A PubMed search of each vascular surgeons publications from years 2018 to 2024 was performed by two independent reviewers. Data collected included date of publication, type of study and level of research evidence. Results: Despite 54% women represented in the current medical workforce, only 17% of the current vascular workforce are women. In 2024, 22% of vascular surgical trainees were female. Over 5 years, the proportion of female trainees has slowly increased. During the 2025 Vascular SET intake, there was a significant increase in accepted female applicants of 64%. Compared to other surgical subspecialties general surgery continues to lead in gender diversity. Women vascular surgeons contribute to vascular surgical publications equally to their male counterparts where two of the the top ten publishing vascular surgeons were women. Conclusion: Gender diversity in Vascular Surgery is vital to ensure equitable representation of the community. This study sheds insight into the representation of women in vascular surgery and their contributions to research.
Speakers
Authors
Authors

Dr Pooja Krishnaswamy - , Dr Rebecca Mortensen -