Through the scope, not the ceiling: Gender distribution among endoscopy sessions at the German Visceral Medicine Congress

Abstract Despite awareness of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in endoscopy, structural impediments persist. Disparities include underrepresentation of women as speakers and chairs at endoscopy congresses. Data from endoscopy sessions of the annual German Visceral Medicine congresses from 2013 to 2024 were analyzed. Gender ratios of speakers, chairs, leadership, and award recipients were analyzed over 336 sessions using linear regression and the Cochran-Armitage test for trend. A trend analysis over 11 years revealed significant increases in female participation as speakers (r² = 0.628, P = 0.004) and chairpersons (r² = 0.815, P < 0.001). For speakers, the increase was significant in plenary sessions (r² = 0.628, P = 0.004), but not in abstract sessions (r² = 0.154, P = 0.232) or industry symposia (r² = 0.150, P = 0.239). Meanwhile, female chairperson representation increased significantly across all domains: plenary sessions (r² = 0.815, P < 0.001), abstract sessions (r² = 0.663, P = 0.002), and industry symposia (r² = 0.534, P = 0.011). Gender parity was not reached among speakers but among chairpersons in abstract sessions and industry symposia on isolated occasions. In 2019, the German Society of Gastroenterology, Digestive and Metabolic Diseases Board introduced a parity resolution concerning gender balance among congress session chairs. Since then, notable progress towards achieving gender parity has been made, with a positive trend being indicative of effectiveness of current DEI measures. Nevertheless, there remains a significant lack of adequate female representation in endoscopy sessions, particularly among central congress formats and among speakers. To address this imbalance, further measures such as binding quotas, institutional support, and targeted diversity-oriented congress planning are necessary.