A snapshot of female representation in the presentation of orthopaedic research, an Australian perspective.

Summary: Orthopaedic surgery has long been a male-dominated field, but is the face of research changing? A new Australian study analyzed over 900 presentations at major orthopaedic conferences between 2021 and 2023 to track female visibility. While women make up only 5.5% of fully qualified surgeons in Australia, they accounted for nearly 16% of research presentations—a figure close to the percentage of female trainees (18.9%). Women were most visible in Paediatrics and Hand surgery topics but remained scarce in Spine and Shoulder sessions. The findings suggest that while total numbers are low, female surgeons are punching above their weight in research contributions.