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Mari et al. Art Int Surg 2022;2:122-31 Artificial
DOI: 10.20517/ais.2022.12
Intelligence Surgery

Review Open Access

The potential of artificial intelligence as an equalizer
of gender disparity in surgical training and

education

1
1
Valentina Mari , Gaya Spolverato , Linda Ferrari 2
1
Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova 35128, Italy.
2
Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Department, Guy’s and St Thomas NHS foundation Trust, London SE17EH, UK.
Correspondence to: Dr. Valentina Mari, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of
Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, Padova 35128, Italy. E-mail: valentina.mari9@gmail.com

How to cite this article: Mari V, Spolverato G, Ferrari L. The potential of artificial intelligence as an equalizer of gender disparity
in surgical training and education. Art Int Surg 2022;2:122-31. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ais.2022.12

Received: 29 May 2022 First Decision: 11 Jul 2022 Revised: 30 Jul 2022 Accepted: 10 Aug 2022 Published: 18 Aug 2022

Academic Editors: Isabella Frigerio, belinda de simone Copy Editor: Peng-Juan Wen Production Editor: Peng-Juan Wen

Abstract
The aim of this work is to offer a panoramic view on how artificial intelligence (AI) can help to break down gender
disparity in enrollment and training of women in surgery. Nowadays, many visible and concealed obstacles still
exist for women who pursue a surgical career. Impediments due to gender disparity prevent women from choosing
surgical specialties. Furthermore, female surgical trainees have to face many difficulties during their training, such
as inequity during the residency selection process, sexual harassment, discrimination in pregnancy experience and
parental leave, and work-life balance problems. AI has been successfully employed for several applications in
surgery to improve patient management, implement the decision-making process, and support training. AI could
represent an effective way to overcome barriers related to gender disparity and overcome the obstacles women
face during surgical education and training. Virtual and augmented reality, remote mentoring, and simulators could
help female surgeons deal with disparities during their training and could positively impact the choice of women
when pursuing a surgical career.

Keywords: Women in surgery, artificial intelligence, surgical training, gender discrimination, choose surgery

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

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