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Progress is reflected in rising female residency numbers and expanding women-led leadership roles, alongside ongoing commitments to equity, mentorship, recruitment, and patient outcomes in Qatar and the wider Middle East.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/gender-diversity-in-plastic-surgery-progress-and-perspectives-from-qatar/459871/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/gender-diversity-in-plastic-surgery-progress-and-perspectives-from-qatar/459871.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Adam","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-08","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why has women’s representation in surgical leadership in Qatar historically lagged?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Systemic and cultural bias has associated surgical competence with stereotypically “masculine” traits like assertiveness and decisiveness, creating barriers to leadership for women.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Who is highlighted as a key figure in this progress in Qatar?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Dr. Abeer Alsherawi is presented as the first female Qatari plastic surgeon, with leadership roles spanning education, research, board examinations, and academic positions.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What current indicators suggest increasing gender diversity in Qatar’s plastic surgery training?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Female residents now comprise about 40% of the national plastic surgery residency program, which has graduated multiple female surgeons since its inception in 2012, and leadership roles in related programs are now held by 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\nMohamed Badie Ahmed, MD*†; Fatima Saoud Al-Mohannadi, MD*; Abeer Alsherawi, MD*†  \nAlthough women now make up a large proportion  \nof medical graduates in Qatar, their representa  \ntion in surgical specialties—particularly in leadership roles—has historically lagged behind. This reflects global patterns of systemic and cultural bias that associate surgical competence with stereotypically “masculine”traits such as assertiveness and decisiveness, creating barriers for women who aspire to leadership.1 For many years, plastic surgery in Qatar was exclusively led by men, and there were no female Qatari plastic surgeons. Such inequities mirror international findings showing that women surgeons often face fewer referrals, limited mentorship, and slower career progression compared with their male peers.2  \nIn recent years, female empowerment initiativesand institutional support have enabled more women to enter and advance in surgical fields, resulting in the rise of female surgeons in academic and leadership roles. A key figure in this progress is Dr. Abeer Alsherawi, the first female Qatari plastic surgeon, who is double boardcertified in Germany. She serves as a core member of the Skin Cancer Multidisciplinary Team; chair of the Qatari Board Examination Committee for Plastic Surgery; and chair of research, associate program director, and assistant professor at Qatar University. Under her leadership, Qatar’s plastic surgery program launched the nation’s first upper extremity flap dissection course allowing residents to master more than 20 flap techniques locally, a groundbreaking step toward advancing surgical education in Qatar.3  \nThis progress aligns with broader trends of gender diversity in the specialty. Currently, female residents constitute about 40% of the national plastic surgery residency program, which has graduated 5 female surgeons since its inception in 2012. This highlights the growing tendency for women to pursue plastic surgery as a career, an encouraging contrast to earlier decades  \nFrom the *Plastic Surgery Department, Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; and †College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.  \nReceived for publication September 30, 2025; accepted November 26, 2025.  \nCopyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2026;14:e7415; doi: 10.1097/ GOX.0000000000007415; Published online 8 January 2026.  \nwhen female participation was nearly absent. Reflecting this shift, the the plastic surgery program’s director and associate directors and the facial plastic and reconstructive surgery fellowship program director are all women, a notable departure from the male-only leadership of the past.4 The shift reflects Qatar’s strong national and institutional support for women in surgery through an empowering healthcare system and dedicated resources. The establishment of the national College of Medicine in 2021 furthered this progress, with Dr. Al-Mohannadi becoming the first female Qatari national graduate to join plastic surgery training and serve as a role model for future generations.  \nFurther research could assess how increasing diversity impacts trainee perceptions, recruitment, and patient outcomes in Qatar and the wider Middle East. The current leadership remains committed to promoting gender equity and empowering women for leadership roles nationally and internationally. Dr. Alsherawi’s representation in the American Society of ","cbCaiffSR2JMk7Kc","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiffSR2JMk7Kc","pdf",536159,"English","# Education\n## Gender bias and historical underrepresentation\n## Institutional support and female leadership in Qatar\n## Workforce representation and program outcomes\n## Future research and equity commitments","[{\"question\":\"Why has women’s representation in surgical leadership in Qatar historically lagged?\",\"answer\":\"Systemic and cultural bias has associated surgical competence with stereotypically “masculine” traits like assertiveness and decisiveness, creating barriers to leadership for women.\"},{\"question\":\"Who is highlighted as a key figure in this progress in Qatar?\",\"answer\":\"Dr. Abeer Alsherawi is presented as the first female Qatari plastic surgeon, with leadership roles spanning education, research, board examinations, and academic positions.\"},{\"question\":\"What current indicators suggest increasing gender diversity in Qatar’s plastic surgery training?\",\"answer\":\"Female residents now comprise about 40% of the national plastic surgery residency program, which has graduated multiple female surgeons since its inception in 2012, and leadership roles in related programs are now held by women.\"}]","Gender Diversity in Plastic Surgery: Progress and Perspectives From Qatar | PDF"]