Like most professions, Surgery too has for centuries been dominated by men,consistently and steadily women enter and succeed at professions historically deemed for men. Despite the inherent barriers and biases women face, they excel in their chosen professions. Anandi Gopal Joshi, the woman widely regarded as India’s first female physician, has finished her degree in Western medicine in the late 19th century. Since then women have gradually but steadily sought to make their presence felt in this field. A significant number of them are today found in the profession. As a conclusion to the above facts the number of women in the workforce increased over the last century from 10 percent to over 50 percent, contributing significantly to the economy. Surgery has experienced tremendous growth in the number of women entering and excelling in the profession, as women surgeons have made magnificent contributions in education, clinical care, and science. Their landmark accomplishments in surgical science and innovations in operative technique have revolutionized surgical care, saved countless lives, and significantly improved longevity and the quality of human life.

Recently in an Annual meeting of Associations of Surgeons it was projected that for 25,000 surgeons there are 700 women surgeons and of 12,700 members only 300 women are members of this society, a number too small to be reckoned at any forum, but there are relevant reasons behind it such as, women continue to receive less pay for equivalent hours than men. Women are also not adequately represented in the higher echelons of power within academic medicine, and their carriers are adversely affected by natural occurrences like pregnancy, childcare, family responsibilities and gender-role conflicts, but the impact of this globalization and digitalization has greatly influenced the patriarchal society and the role of women that existed in India since the rise of civilization. When we talk of medical field, especially Surgery, the impact is more visible. Nursing and midwifery was the domain where women found their place and later in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and outnumbering man from this domain in a considerable rate, though outnumbering man is not the prime goal but to enable women to contribute more and more on this field is definitely the one.

Women Entrepreneur in this issue is introducing a list of ‘Top 10 Women Surgeons – 2022’, who have contributed to the growth of health care industry in India. These young women have risen to top positions in their job and their stories will be a true motivation to women all over the world, those who want to chase their dreams. The following list has been prepared after being closely scrutinized by a distinguished panel of judges including CXOs, analysts and our editorial board.