D&I report card shines light on Society’s efforts

By Kendra Y. Mims-Applewhite

Improving diversity and inclusion within ASPS and increasing representation within plastic surgery have become increasingly important topics among Society membership. Recognizing the importance of continuing the conversation and creating ongoing initiatives to advance diversity and inclusion at all levels within the specialty, the ASPS Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee deployed its first D&I Report Card in June to gauge Society committees’ diversity and inclusion efforts.

In 2019, the committee issued the Diversity and Inclusion Self-Assessment survey, which assessed the composition of ASPS committees by age, gender, ethnicity/race and practice type. This year’s report card builds on that by collecting additional demographic data – including questions on sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status and practice setting, thus creating a more in-depth and inclusive survey.

“With the growing understanding that one cannot fix what one does not study, I commend ASPS for supporting a demographic climate survey of our committee membership,” says D&I Committee Chair Paris Butler, MD, MPH. “The information gleaned from the survey was enlightening and will help inform our organization on how best to continue this important dialogue around diversity and inclusion, as well as strategize for future programming and educational efforts.”

The survey revealed that 55 percent of respondents described the composition of their committee as “moderately” diverse (a 15 percent increase from the 2019 self-assessment survey), and 32 percent said their committee should be doing more to increase diversity. Respondents also noted a lack of international representation on ASPS committees.

The majority of respondents who serve patients in rural or underserved areas (nearly 40 percent) described their committee composition as “not at all” diverse. Non-white respondents described the composition of their committees to be less diverse than white respondents, and nearly half of female respondents reported their committees aren’t doing enough to increase diversity (only one quarter of male respondents felt the same about their committees). Female respondents also expressed a desire to see more women plastic surgeons in higher leadership positions.

When D&I Committee member Purushottam Nagarkar, MD, delved deeper into the data, he discovered differences in the respondents’ perception of diversity within their committees based on their gender, age, race/ethnicity and practice type. Female respondents in academic practice and under age 50 desire more diversity in committees, while male respondents over age 50 and/or in private practice didn’t see the need.

“Recognizing the need for more diversity inversely correlates with one’s perception of existing diversity,” Dr. Nagarkar says. “If you think a committee is already diverse, you don’t feel the need for greater diversity. However, serving on multiple committees helps people realize more diversity is needed.”

Increasing representation

Since the Society formed in 1931, only three women have served ASPS president, with Lynn Jeffers, MD, MBA, making history as the first woman of color in 2020. ASPS/PSF Board Vice President of Membership Steven Williams, MD, notes the D&I Report Card’s findings emphasized the need to create more leadership opportunities for women.

“The majority of our committee members feel we need to do more to recognize the value of women in positions of leadership and create better pathways and support structures to realize that change,” says Dr. Williams, who presented the findings to the ASPS Board of Directors. “Society leadership recognizes membership’s desire for diversity and inclusion. Based on some of the communications of the survey, for instance, we’re looking for tighter partnerships and collaborations with the Women Plastic Surgeons Forum (WPS) to see if we can answer some of the concerns the survey pointed out regarding female inclusion and leadership opportunities.”

Although some survey respondents supported the D&I Committee’s efforts to increase diversity representation (“Diversity brings new perspectives to the table and opportunities for reassessment of current programs,” noted one respondent), others expressed concerns and opposed the idea (“Encourage the underrepresented to excel without discrimination or hurting other people who excel. Stop dividing people. Stop allowing a victim card,” said another). Dr. Williams says more education is needed to help members understand the importance of diversity.

“The EC found the comments interesting and surprising,” Dr. Williams notes. “We encourage people to share how they feel, and the comments demonstrated we definitely have more work to do.”

The right direction

The ASPS D&I Committee’s ongoing efforts include recognizing individual and organizational barriers to diversity and inclusion; identifying emerging issues that can affect diversity within the Society; creating new initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion; and promoting the value of having a diverse group of surgeon members included in all the entity’s activities to ensure full and equal representation and participation in ASPS.

Since its 2017 inception, the D&I Committee developed a diversity-incident reporting mechanism for members to report bias incidents and concerns; created a resources library on plasticsurgery.org; and distributed surveys to help guide ASPS diversity and inclusion efforts and clarify the demographic makeup of ASPS/PSF committees.

“The D&I Committee is still relatively new, but it’s already made some real impact,” Dr. Williams says. “Our overall goal is to expand the D&I Report Card to general membership. One important task going forward is to compare the responses of individuals who actively donate their time, resources and effort to ASPS committees to the general membership and see if their feelings toward diversity are the same or different.

“The committee structure and the internal bodies within ASPS guide programs and resources and point the way toward the future,” he continues. “We started with the committee structure because that’s responsible for a large part of the internal work in the Society, but we want to understand how every member feels about diversity – good or bad.”

Dr. Williams commended the Society’s latest diversity initiative to launch special interest groups – the new ASPS PRIDE Forum, which serves as a central voice to advocate for LGBTQIA+ plastic surgeons and patients, and the Military Plastic Surgery Forum Steering Committee, which serves as a central voice to advocate for military plastic surgeons and their patients’ unique needs – to ensure all groups in the Society are supported and represented. He notes the D&I Committee supports the special interest groups and says he looks forward to building a more diverse and inclusive future.

“ASPS is leading the way in terms of a professional plastic surgery society recognizing the importance of diversity,” Dr. Williams says. “It’s not just about ASPS membership and committee structures embracing diversity and inclusion – it’s also about creating an environment where we can learn how to take better care of an increasingly diverse patient population. We’re headed in the right direction and on our way to a great place.”