Persistent Lack of Female Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellows.

Of the 132 orthopaedic sports medicine fellows in training in the United States in the 2021-2022 academic year, 113 (85.6%) were men and 19 (14.4%) were women (p<0.001). Within the past five years, 419 fellows were listed as completing a sports medicine fellowship, with 375 (89.5%) being men, and 44 (10.5%) being women (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the gender composition of current fellows compared to the composition of fellows within the last 5 years (p=0.74). When examining gender trends in sports medicine faculty, 639 (86.6%) were men and 99 (13.4%) were women (p<0.001). There were 14 women (14.4%) orthopaedic sports medicine faculty in leadership positions (i.e., program director or assistant program director) compared to 83 men in such positions (85.6%) (p<0.001) CONCLUSIONS: Orthopaedic sports medicine fellowships remain heavily male-dominated on all levels, including fellows, faculty, and leadership. There were no differences in the gender composition of current fellows when compared to those who graduated in the last five years, suggesting persistent gender disparity and the need for novel initiatives to enhance gender diversity in sports medicine.