Women are three times less likely to be among the first to ask questions at ophthalmology grand rounds (GR) sessions, according to a US study.
Researchers led by Dr Lauren Hennein, University of California, San Diego, observed 31 virtual ophthalmology GR sessions. The speaker was female in 13 of 31 sessions (42%), while the mean audience composition was 47% female, 45% male, and 8% unknown. Male attendees were more likely to ask one of the first three questions compared with female attendees, said authors. Strategies to encourage equal participation of sex in academic discourse should be encouraged, they concluded.
