The Gender Health Gap Is Real — And It’s Costing Lives
By Giusiana Prosser
Women are 32% more likely to die if their surgeon is a man.
A groundbreaking study published in JAMA Surgery in 2022 has confirmed what many women have long suspected: gender matters in medicine, and in all too many cases, it can mean the difference between life and death. This isn’t anecdotal — gender disparities in healthcare are real, measurable, and deadly.
After analyzing over 1.3 million patients undergoing common surgical procedures in Ontario, Canada, researchers found that female patients are significantly more likely to suffer poor outcomes when operated on by male surgeons. Specifically, women treated by male surgeons faced a 15% higher risk of death, complications, or readmission in contrast to patients treated by female surgeons.
Men, on the other hand, did not experience worse outcomes when treated by female surgeons, in fact, their surgical outcomes were statistically the same or even better than when operated on by a male surgeon.
What the study found:
Women operated on by male surgeons were 15% more likely to die within 30 days post-surgery
They were also 32% more likely to die within 30 days post-surgery
No such disparity was found for male patients, who fared equally or better with female surgeons
These findings held steady even after adjusting for factors like the type of procedure, hospital, and patient health status.
This is not a theoretical gap — it’s a statistically significant, real-word disparity that impacts women in a dangerous way. It’s not about personal bias, it’s about deep systemic issues in how medicine is practiced and taught; and it’s a direct reflection of a healthcare system still riddled with gender bias, communication gaps, and structural inequity.
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This study isn’t just another academic paper, it’s a wake up call. It reinforces what women have been saying for years — gender bias in healthcare is real, and it’s killing us. From pain being dismissed as emotional, to delayed diagnoses, and now to measurable surgical outcomes women constantly face an uphill battle when seeking medical care.
The why behind the stats:
The study’s authors don’t pinpoint a single cause, but they suggest several likely contributors:
Implicit bias: Unconscious beliefs about female patients may influence how seriously symptoms are taken or how complications are managed.
Communication styles: Previous research has shown that female physicians often have better patient communication, which may translate to safer, more collaborative care.
Systemic imbalances: Surgery remains a male-dominated field, and women surgeons still face barriers to training, advancement, and leadership. Patients may suffer the consequences of a system that hasn’t adapted to diverse provider needs.
Implicit bias that causes clinicians to dismiss women’s symptoms or concerns
Poor communication, where women may not feel heard or adequately informed before surgery
A lack of representation of women in surgical specialties, where less than 25% of surgeons are women globally
When these elements converge, they create a dangerous environment, especially for women in vulnerable medical moments like surgery. This isn’t about individual male surgeons, but about a system that consistently fails to recognize and correct gender-based inequities. This study adds hard data to what advocates have been shouting for years: the gender health gap isn’t hypothetical. It’s measurable, and it’s killing people.
The fact that female patients do significantly worse under the care of male surgeons is not an isolated statistic, it’s a symptom of a much broader issue. And while individual male surgeons may be excellent and caring providers, the pattern shows that systemic change is urgently needed. The outcomes aren’t isolated incidents or flukes; they are statistically significant and consistent across surgical specialties, hospital settings, and age groups.
When a healthcare system produces worse outcomes based on gender, it is failing not just in equity, but in basic patient safety.
What needs to change?
Mandatory bias training: Medical bias training must be mandatory. Surgeons — especially in male-dominated specialties — must be trained and held accountable for effective patient-centered communication. Evidence suggests female physicians tend to score higher in these skills, which may be saving lives. Medical education should meaningfully address gender bias, not just as a footnote because they’re checking off a list, but as a core component of clinical safety.
Increase representation in surgery: Globally less than 25% of surgeons are women. Hospitals and health systems should actively recruit, support and retain more women in surgical specialties. This should include mentoring, equal pay, and promotion into leadership roles.
Accountability through data: hospitals and surgical centers should analyze and publicly report outcomes disaggregated by provider and patient gender to ensure transparency and quality improvement.
Elevate women’s voices: Both patients and providers need to be heard. Women must be believed when they report pain, discomfort or health concerns. Patients should have the right to choose their provider, including based on gender, and their preference should be respected without judgement or limited access. That choice could very well could be life-saving.
Research the “Why”: This study identified a critical problem. Now, further work is needed to uncover the mechanisms and develop solutions to protect future patients.
Final thoughts
Healthcare systems pride themselves on being data-driven; so let’s act like it. This study, involving over a million surgeries, tells us something urgent: gender bias in medicine isn’t just unfair, it’s dangerous. We don’t need more studies as reminders that this is real, we need reform, representation, and accountability. The operating room should be a place of precision and safety, not a site where systemic bias determines who lives and who dies.
Women deserve better. The data demands it. Lives depend on it.
SOURCE: Wallis, Christopher J D et al. “Association of Surgeon-Patient Sex Concordance With Postoperative Outcomes.” JAMA surgery. 2022. PMID: 34878511
