Abstract
Women started to enter the specialty of colon and rectal surgery in the early 1970s.
However, it was rare for a woman to hold a leadership position in the specialty before
2000. Since then, considerable progress has been made, although the percentage of
women leaders does not yet approach the percentage of women in the field. This article
focuses on the history of women in leadership positions in the American Board of Colon
and Rectal Surgery, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, the American
Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Research Foundation, and the Association of Program
Directors in Colon and Rectal Surgery as well the Diseases of the Colon and Rectum and academic departments. Early women leaders shared some common attributes that
have contributed to their success. This article reviews some barriers to increasing
the number of women in leadership positions; most will be reviewed in other sections
in this issue.
Keywords
colorectal surgery - leadership - women
