AAHS - Rising Female First Authors, Stagnant Senior Roles: A 12-Year Analysis of AAHS and ASSH Conference Abstracts (2013-2024)

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Rising Female First Authors, Stagnant Senior Roles: A 12-Year Analysis of AAHS and ASSH Conference Abstracts (2013-2024)
Pooja Deshpande, BA^¹, Seth Noorbakhsh, MD^¹; Renata V Weber, MD^²
(¹)Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, (²)Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ

Introduction

As more women enter hand surgery, assessing gender representation at an academic level has become increasingly important. Conference authorship trends provide valuable insight into early career involvement (first authorship) and senior academic leadership (senior or Principal Investigator [PI] authorship). While previous studies have evaluated gender disparities in surgical literature broadly, detailed longitudinal analyses of female authorship at major hand surgery conferences remain limited. Understanding these trends is essential to promote diversity, mentorship, and equitable advancement in academic hand surgery.

Methods and Materials

Abstract books from the American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS) and American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) annual meetings from 2013-2024 were reviewed. Abstracts related to the digit, hand, wrist, and forearm were included. Data collection included gender of first and senior (last) authors, determined using Genderize.io (with <95% certainty manually verified via institutional and online profiles). Yearly proportions of female first and senior authors were calculated. Linear regression was used to analyze trends in female authorship over time within each conference. Chi-square tests were used to compare overall pooled proportions of female first and senior authorship between conferences. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

A total of 723 AAHS and 704 ASSH abstracts were analyzed. In AAHS, female first authorship rose from 15.0% to 36.6%, showing a significant upward trend (p = 0.037; slope +0.021/year). Female PI representation increased from 10.0% to 19.7%, though this trend was not significant (p = 0.13). In ASSH, female first authorship increased from 28.6% to 32.0%, demonstrating a significant upward trend (p = 0.011; slope +0.014/year). Female senior authorship fluctuated (15.9% to 14.0%) and showed a non-significant trend toward increase (p = 0.069). No significant differences in overall pooled female first authorship (AAHS 28.1% vs ASSH 26.5%, p = 0.64) or senior authorship (AAHS 15.3% vs ASSH 15.0%, p = 0.46) were observed.

Conclusions

This first comprehensive analysis comparing female authorship trends across major hand surgery conferences reveals encouraging gains in female first authorship, indicating greater early-career engagement. However, the slower increase in senior authorship highlights persistent barriers to leadership. The stagnant PI representation may reflect the historically lower number of women in senior roles; as the growing pool of female first authors progresses, we may see these gains extend into senior authorship. Nonetheless, continued mentorship, sponsorship, and institutional support are critical to achieve true gender equity in academic hand surgery.

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