Fueling The Future of Neurosurgery: Increasing Trends in Female Enrollment Expand the Neurosurgical Workforce from 2010-2019

Introduction: Regular reporting on recruitment of women into neurosurgery is a mechanism to track progress of minority inclusion and diversity. Over half of current US medical students are women, yet still compose a minority of residents. We previously published data tracking women in neurosurgery for the previous decade from 2000-2009, which showed an increasing match rate of women over time. We present updated data on the matriculation of women into neurosurgical residencies across the most recent decade from 2010-2019.

Methods: Public databases from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) were analyzed for applicants to neurosurgical residency from 2010-2019. Demographic data for those matched was obtained from the American Medical Association (AMA) Masterfile and analyzed for year of match and gender. Secondary outcomes included program location, age, and gap year(s) between medical school and residency.

Results: Women made up 18.8% (394/2095) of residents matched into neurosurgery from 2010-2019, compared to 12% during the previous decade. There was an increase in overall match rate of 2.2% per year (male + female) from 2010-2019, representing a needed expansion of trained neurosurgeons nationally. Women made up the majority of this increase rising by 5.5% annually (P=0.002) compared to men increasing by 1.4% annually (P=0.096). There was no significant difference in gender with regard to age, number of gap years, or program location.

Conclusion : The number of women matching into neurosurgery continues to increase over the last two decades. Despite this, there remains significant disparity between number of men and women matching into neurosurgery. Ongoing mitigation of barriers to recruitment of women into neurosurgery is critical. Our data highlight that women are fueling the expansion of the neurosurgical workforce.