From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other sources that we believe are relevant to our audience. Since this week featured International Women’s Day, we wanted to bring your attention to the March 2021 Neurosurgical Focus issue on International Women Leaders in Neurosurgery: Past and Present exploring women’s roles in neurosurgery over the years.
Topics include the impact of culture and history on women’s progress and the global influence of women in neurosurgery. Historical reports highlight noteworthy examples of women neurosurgeons around the globe who have demonstrated vision and leadership. The series discusses the presence of women neurosurgeons at the podium at scientific and medical society gatherings and the 
emerging roles of women as leaders in international organizations. Various aspects of research are described, including funding gaps and publication rates.
The series proposes strategies to expand opportunities for success for women neurosurgeons. A future that actively encourages the best and brightest medical students to choose neurosurgical careers — regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, culture, sexual orientation or identity, socioeconomic strata or any other individual defining characteristic — will best serve the needs of the profession and patients.
Read the following articles in the series:
- International women leaders in neurosurgery: past, present, and future
- International women leaders in neurosurgery: past, present, and what the future must look like
- Increases in female academic productivity and female mentorship highlight sustained progress in previously identified neurosurgical gender disparities
- Female authorship in neurosurgical journals: what remains to be done
- International trends in grant and fellowship funding awarded to women in neurosurgery
- Women’s role in neurosurgical research: is the gender gap improving?
- The gender gap in European neurosurgical conference presentations
- Investing in the future: a call for strategies to empower and expand representation of women in neurosurgery worldwide
- The progression of diversity: Black women in neurosurgery
- Slow progress in the visibility of women in neurosurgery in the United States: opportunity for improvement
- Neurosurgeons in 2020: the impact of gender on neurosurgical training, family planning, and workplace culture
- Women neurosurgeons around the world: a systematic review
- Cross-sectional analysis of women in neurosurgery: a Canadian perspective
- Women in neurosurgery: where does the United Kingdom stand?
- History of African women in neurosurgery
- History of Women in Neurosurgery (WINS)
- Yoko Kato: the silent warrior of neurosurgery
- Resiliency of a perpetual optimist: neurosurgeon Dr. Linda Liau
- Biographies of international women leaders in neurosurgery
Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to be part of the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #WomenInNeurosurgery