Women in surgery, mentoring, and social media

I read the recently published survey from Parini and colleagues addressing gender-related barriers for Italian women surgeons. Despite being the first study of this kind in Italy, it describes findings and proposes solutions that are not original, as women in surgery face the same reality in most western countries. In particular, the authors state, “Surprisingly, to their knowledge, no such study has been published in the leading British Journals.” This is incorrect; in 2019, the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland published the results of an online survey2 whose aim was to assess the reality of women working within the surgical discipline, to understand their current perceptions, providing insight into their practical day-to-day lives, and supporting an action-oriented change.