Mentorship, Sponsorship, and Leadership for Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery: A Qualitative Analysis

Nicole M Mott; Alison S Baskin; Crystal D Taylor; Vanessa Niba; Kaylie Owens; Jessica Rove; Joseph Cleveland; Simran Randhawa; Robert A Meguid; John D Mitchell; Rishindra M Reddy; Elizabeth A David

doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2025.05.046

Mentorship, Sponsorship, and Leadership for Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery: A Qualitative Analysis

Ann Thorac Surg. 2025 Jun 21:S0003-4975(25)00544-2. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2025.05.046. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ National Clinician Scholars Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO. Electronic address: nmmott@umich.edu.
² Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
³ Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
⁴ Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO.

PMID: 40550316
DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2025.05.046

Abstract

Background: Gender disparities are well described in cardiothoracic surgery (CT). However, qualitative data highlighting women's lived experiences are lacking. We aimed to explore women's experiences with mentorship, sponsorship, and leadership in CT.

Methods: We conducted virtual semi-structured interviews with surgeons who were women in practice for ≥5 years across the United States from 9/2024 to 12/2024. The interview asked questions pertaining to women's experiences with mentorship, sponsorship, leadership pathways, and leadership roles. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using the thematic analysis approach.

Results: Participants (n=25) included thoracic (40%), adult cardiac (36%), and congenital (16%) surgeons with 13 median years in practice. Most (84%) currently practiced in an academic setting. There were six main themes: 1) Losing Mentorship and Never Finding Sponsorship - mentorship wanes after early career and sponsorship often is never found; 2) Looking Elsewhere - women look outside their home institutions for sponsorship; 3) Needing He-for-She - men have an important role to play as sponsors; 4) Breaking Imposter Syndrome with Sponsorship - sponsorship helps overcome leadership imposter syndrome; 5) Circling the Service Drain - an overburden of work without title or compensation impedes leadership attainment; and 6) Being the Boss, but Not Bossy - women face double standards as leaders that may increase the challenges of leadership.

Conclusions: These findings suggest the need to increase cross-gender sponsorship, create support systems for career development within institutions, provide transparency in pay and promotion structures, and develop leadership training tailored to the unique obstacles women may face in order to combat identified barriers.