Career satisfaction in women surgeons: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Career satisfaction among women surgeons have been well-reported in literature. This study provides a comprehensive review to understand career satisfaction and its contributory factors among female surgeons. Methods: PRISMA guidelines were utilized to extract studies for systematic review and meta-analysis. Outcomes assessed included surgical career satisfaction, career reconsideration, work-life balance, and gender bias and discrimination (GBD). Odds ratios were calculated comparing women to men for each outcome. Results: This study demonstrated that female surgeons were less likely to endorse overall career satisfaction (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.55–0.85) and work-life balance satisfaction (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.40–0.92) compared to male surgeons. It also revealed that women surgeons were more likely to report workplace GBD (OR, 13.82; 95% CI, 4.37–43.65). Conclusions: Future interventions may be necessary to increase career and work-life balance satisfaction among women surgeons while reconciling the need to ensure they are adequately informed of the obligations of a surgical career.