Collaborating in Surgery Through a Gendered Lens

Sex and gender can powerfully inform how we, as surgeons, deliver better surgical outcomes.Defining what we mean by 'sex' and 'gender' matters, because language matters.A person's sex is based on their chromosomes, reproductive hormones and anatomy, typically recorded at birth but subject to change.It is an important biological variable in human and animal health and medical research, and also forms part of a person's legal identity.Transgender and gender nonconforming people and some people with differences of sex development may not identify with their sex assigned at birth, so may change the way they report their sex over their lifetime [1].Therefore, data on reported sex may not always offer useful information about a person's biological characteristics.Gender is a social and cultural concept relating to differences in identity, expression and experience as a man, woman or non-binary individual.Gender identity refers to a person's inner sense of self, gender expression to how that self is outwardly presented and gender experience to one's alignment or non-alignment with sex recorded at birth (e.g., a cis or trans experience) [1].Although sex and gender are only two aspects of human diversity, considering sex and gender within surgical practice attests to the importance of understanding, tolerating and celebrating our differences.It is foundational for how we work together, undertake research and care for our patients.