Manels, MacGyvering Devices, and Mansplaining Discussed at Olympus’ International Women’s Day Panel
Despite efforts toward balancing the gender scales in the workplace, males still hold majority rank in business and industry management and leadership roles, according to McKinsey & Company’s Women in the Workplace 2024 report.1
This is true in many medical disciplines, according to panelists who participated in the Olympus’ sponsored “Partnering with Women in Medicine,” a virtual panel discussion held March 19, 2025. Panelist were asked to consider questions with the objectives of “improving how industry can partner with, design products for, and sell to customers.”
Female representation in medical specialties
Understanding customer demographics is key. Before she began her fellowship, there were hardly any women, recalled Christine Argento, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins. “My year [2012-13] was a banner year: There were three of us,” she said of her interventional pulmonology (IP) specialty. Laura Frye, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah, also an IP, said she was one of three in her class as well. “We’re a small number, but slowly growing.” Frye referenced the 2022 American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP) member survey, with a 17.8% female response rate.2
Females have long been underrepresented in gastroenterology. The tide is shifting, albeit slowly. From 2009-2019, an average of just under 34% of GI fellowship positions were filled by women, an increase of only 3.3% within a decade.3
Professional society support
Professional societies are heeding the call. Women in Endoscopy (WIE) is a global organization that champions the advancement of women though education, professional growth and leadership development. Women In Interventional Pulmonology (WIIP) has emerged to support female specialists in pulmonology. “I’ve been a part of WIIP since 2011,” said Argento. “We are working together ahead of time to develop sessions and get up on the podiums,” breaking the tradition of symposium and conference “manels,” a term coined to describe all-male panelist discussions in scientific and medical forums.4
“We’ve had the Association of Women Surgeons [AWS] for over 40 years, which is ACS [American College of Surgeons]-supported,” according to Patricia Sylla, MD, FACS, FASCRS, System Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System. “They have been successful with [bridging] many gaps. They do global outreach, have established multiple chapters, and provide a structure and framework [for female surgeons in training]. This is where I’ve seen industry partnership success,” she said. In cases where industry grants to medical societies can fund such programs, “You cannot imagine how a grant of $10,000 to $15,000 can help in dealing with an obscene level of discrimination,” Sylla added.
Allyship, research representation
Sylla said female allyship has been a way to advocate for voices absent from podiums and less engaged by industry. She would also like to see more female representation in clinical trials. “In cardiology, surgery, advanced endoscopy, the majority of PIs [principal investigators] are men.”
This is somewhat representative across the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialties, observed Wendy LeBorgne, PhD, CCC-SLP. “In clinical trials, the PIs are typically male, and the female researchers can sometimes be listed second or third, even though they did all of the work.” But in terms of gender demographics at least, LeBorgne said females have more of a census representation in ENT.
Watch us work!
To better foster industry partnerships, Sylla appreciates is when a sales rep asks, “Can I come and spend time with you in the OR?” She adds that, “By showing up and observing, you can learn a lot.” Argento agreed. “I would say that’s a win-win…you get something out of it, and we get something out of it.”
Do these come in a smaller size?
While observing, reps may notice that one size does not fit all when it comes to medical devices. “It’s a problem,” stated Sylla, who said that women need to be brought in sooner to consult on product design. “I’m a six-and-a-half glove size. Why am I 15th in line for input?” As a result, “There are products in the OR we will not use” because of size incompatibility, she asserted.
Frye has observed that women in pulmonary medicine “often become MacGyvers,” adjusting instrumentation to accommodate their anatomy to use it. “What about adjustable lengths?” she offered. “Make something that works for both cohorts, so women aren’t standing on stepstools.”
Argento has also seen these challenges. “To be fair, the Olympus® single-use bronchoscopes have different sizes, some with locking handles, some with smaller handles,” she said, referring the H-SteriScopeTM single use bronchoscope portfolio. But Argento also acknowledged design hurdles for the industry. “If devices are too small, then they’re not ergonomically correct for men.”
See more on the Olympus® Hybrid Bronchoscopy Solution
Imposter syndrome? Just ‘walk the walk’
Given these seeming hurdles, panelists were asked if they experienced imposter syndrome,5 the self-conscious feeling of inferiority for achieving success. “Most women have in my field,” offered Argento. Her advice? “Find your way. Have confidence in your skill and ability. Don’t be so harsh and critical of yourself,” she said, encouraging fellow specialists to pay it forward. “If you can, mentor someone, sponsor, teach.”
Sylla takes another tack. “I overcome imposter syndrome with rage: Rage from being overlooked as a speaker, [being] unseen, or from others taking credit from your work,” she affirmed. “There’s nothing more motivating than letting it simmer in your brain.” Drawing strength from her own mentors and role models, Sylla advises, “Just live it. Walk the walk.”
From Left: Christine Argento, MD, Interventional Pulmonologist, Associate Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins
Wendy LeBorgne, PhD, CCC-SLP, Voice Pathologist, CEO & Owner, Professional Voice Consultants
Patricia Sylla, MD, FACS, FASCRS, System Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Mount Sinai Health System
Laura Frye, MD, Interventional Pulmonologist, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Utah
Learning to ‘Style Flex’
Panelists at Olympus’ “Partnering with Women in Medicine” all shared observations on gender differences in communicating and learning. But navigating the complex social environments of hospitals, clinics, and professional networking events requires a bit of “style flexing” from both men and women alike, suggested Wendy LeBorgne, PhD, CCC-SLP, Voice Pathologist, CEO & Owner, Professional Voice Consultants.
It's not as simple as Mars v. Venus, LeBorgne suggested. “We have to learn to style flex with whomever you are communicating with,” taking subtle cues on what resonates. Some of us need stats, while others appreciate nuance and background, she suggested. Given these dynamics, she adds, “There’s nothing better than watching a [networking] cocktail hour…it’s interesting to watch the hierarchy unfold.”
Still, some tendencies prevail. At professional networking events, “Women are a little more polite,” observed Christine Argento, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins. “We’ll hang on in misery in a conversation, whereas our male colleagues will just be like, ‘I gotta go.’” In addition, “We learn differently, we pick up skills differently, we react differently to how things are … taught.”
This double standard is evident on social media. “Women are not relating to self-promotion that you see on social medial, mostly from male surgeons ‘showing-off’ their cases [and] their skills,” said Patricia Sylla, MD, FACS, FASCRS, System Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System.
And then there’s the “little micro-aggressions and mansplaining,”6 observed Laura Frye, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Utah. “It’s real,” she said of situations where she has endured over-explanations of clinical topics well within her wheelhouse.
Another irksome tendency is name dropping. “It’s a no-no,” said Sylla. “It’s infuriating [because] it’s assuming you don’t know the data.” Industry reps: Be warned. “Nothing is worse than when you’re published in the field and a rep is quoting a study of lesser merit published after your work,” said Sylla.
Of course, these topics go deeper than gender bias, but with mentors, allyship, and the growing support of professional societies that offer gender representation, there may yet be hope for all of us to be more conscientious communicators.
Drs. Argento, Frye, LeBorgne, and Sylla are paid consultants of Olympus Corporation of the Americas, and/or its affiliates.
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References:
1. McKinsey & Company. Women in the Workplace 2024: The 10th-anniversary report. Updated September 17, 2024. Accessed April 11, 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace
2. Wahidi MM, Lamb CR, Kovitz K, et al. Interventional Pulmonology Productivity, Compensation, and Practice Benchmarks: The AABIP 2022 Report. J Bronchology Interv Pulmonol. 2023 Apr 1;30(2):129-134.
3. Starkey M, Daboul J, Lang J, Hart B, Ekwenna O. Trends in female representation in gastroenterology fellowships in the United States. Ann Gastroenterol. 2022 Nov-Dec;35(6):577-583. doi: 10.20524/aog.2022.0747. Epub 2022 Oct 3. PMID: 36406975; PMCID: PMC9648528.
4. Wright K, King L. All-Male Panels, or ‘Manels,’ Must End. The Petrie-Flom Center, Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. 2020 Oct 23.
5. Huecker MR, Shreffler J, McKeny PT, et al. Imposter Phenomenon. [Updated 2023 Jul 31]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585058/
6. Gillis, K. When Does Explaining Cross the Line Into “Mansplaining”? January 25, 2025.
