ABOUT US
MISSION STATEMENT
​
The Gender Equity Initiative in Global Surgery (GEIGS) is a sister organization to the Prorgam in Global Surgrery and Social Change (PGSSC) , Harvard Medical School, US. It was started in 2019 and now the organization has now grown into a global, diverse initiative with more than 500+ members from over 65+ countries.
​
To address gender disparities in the surgery, obstetrics, and anesthesia (SAO) workforce worldwide through research, advocacy, and mentorship, to achieve worldwide gender equity in surgery by 2030.
GOALS
-
To inform the surgical community and the public on gender disparities in SAO fields through research.
-
To advocate for gender equity in SAO fields.
-
To empower surgeons, trainees, and medical students of underrepresented gender worldwide by international collaboration and creating a mentorship network.
Why Gender Equity in Global Surgery?
The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery reported in 2015 that there were 5 billion people in the world lacking access to safe and affordable surgical and anesthesia care. With the need to double the global surgical workforce between 2015 to 2030, it is now time to tap into the resource of underrepresented genders in surgery worldwide: cisgender women and individuals in the transgender umbrella including binary trans men and women, and other gender identities outside the gender binary including non-binary, agender, genderfluid and genderqueer. Although women have made great strides in gender parity in medicine, much work remains to be done in the field of surgery.
​
​
​
​
​
​
According to data from the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, as of 2015, there were only three female surgeons for every 1 million people in low-income countries. The numbers for other genders out of the cisgender binary are not known, but likely even further underrepresented. Gender equity is fundamentally a matter of justice. But also, it is an indispensable means to achieve the global surgery 2030 goals for the provision of surgical care to all those in need. We believe in dismantling the long-standing structure of patriarchy in surgical fields and amplifying the voices of cisgender women and individuals in the transgender umbrella including binary trans men and women, and other gender identities outside the gender binary.
​
We acknowledge the pervasive gender-based inequality in surgical fields worldwide. We promote gender equity in global surgery, in support of the sustainable development goals (sdgs) 3 and 5. We believe that reducing gender inequality is a crucial component of surgical systems strengthening especially in low and middle income countries (lmics), a challenge that needs to be tackled in conjunction with the development of surgery.
