International Women’s Day 2025
03 March 2025
(Last updated: 3 Mar 2025 17:19)
Breaking Barriers, Building Legacies, Accelerate Action: Advancing Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery
By Ralitsa Baranowski Co-Chair, SCTS Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery
As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, I am honoured to reflect on the remarkable strides women have made in cardiothoracic surgery—a field historically dominated by men.
This year’s theme, Accelerate Action for gender equality is a powerful call to move beyond discussion and actively drive change. Cardiothoracic surgery in one of the most gender-imbalanced specialties, with women representing less than 10% of the workforce worldwide.
Progress, But Not Fast Enough
Women have been at the forefront of surgical innovation, taking on leadership roles, pioneering surgical techniques and reshaping the landscape of cardiothoracic surgery. From Dr. Nina Starr Braunwald, the first woman to perform a heart valve replacement, which she had designed and fabricated, Dr. Sara Teitelbaum, a pioneer in congenital heart surgery, to Prof. Franca Melfi, pioneer in the field of robotic thoracic surgery, performing the first robotic procedure for the treatment in lung cancer in 2001, we stand on the shoulders of extraordinary women who paved the way. Today, more women are entering cardiothoracic surgery, leading research, performing groundbreaking procedures, and holding leadership positions.
Yes, barriers still exist. Women in cardiothoracic surgery still represent a minority in our field, facing unique challenges such as inherited bias, discrimination, sexual misconduct, extreme disbalance in work-life balance, especially around pregnancy and childcare, shortage of mentorship and sponsorship, imposter syndrome.
We cannot afford slow, incremental change. To truly transform our field, we must take urgent action to remove obstacles and create a more inclusive and equitable profession.
How do We accelerate Action?
To create a meaningful change, we must:
- Advocate for Institutional Change
- Demand family-friendly policies that support parental leave and flexible work arrangements without career penalties
NHS management of surgical departments should rethink the traditional volume of work, which is unattractive to the new generations who value their work-life balance posing a substantial barrier to women, who often have greater home responsibilities than their male counterparts. One solution would be the consideration of more flexible work arrangements with greater autonomy in scheduling surgeries rather than fixed sessions. Also, policies supporting earlier childbearing, support during parental leave and on-site childcare facilities should be provided widely.
- Push for equitable hiring and leadership opportunities for women in cardiothoracic surgery
- Strengthen Mentorship and Sponsorship
- Established structured mentorship scheme that actively support young female surgeons
- Encourage sponsorship, where senior surgeons advocate for women’s promotions, research opportunities, and speaking engagements
- Empowering the Next Generation and Foster a Culture of Inclusivity
- Challenge gender biases and outdated stereotypes
- Create male allies, encouraging the male colleagues to support and advocate for their female peers
Our goal is clear: to create an inclusive, supportive environment where women can thrive.
Change will not happen unless we commit to concrete actions. Each of us has a role to play in accelerating progress for women in cardiothoracic surgery. Let’s not just talk about change – let’s make it happen together.
To all the women in cardiothoracic surgery, thank you for your resilience, dedication, and passion. Your work is not just changing lives – it’s changing history.
To all my WiCTS Committee Members, thank you for all your support and suggestions.
Happy International Women’s Day 2025! Looking forward to meeting you all at the WiCTS Networking event in Edinburgh 2025!
Prof. Karen Redmond and Prof. Donna Eaton is from the Irish Thoracic Community J&J Segmentectomy event.
Ralitsa Baranowski - Co-Chair, SCTS Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery (WiCTS)
Ralitsa Baranowski is a Consultant Thoracic Surgeon, Service Improvement Lead for Regional Thoracic Surgery and the Robotic Lead for Thoracic Surgery at Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is the Co-Chair of the SCTS Committee Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Her clinical interests include minimally invasive (VATS and robotic-assisted) operations, VATS/RATS segmentectomy, lung volume reduction surgery, innovations in surgery, navigation bronchoscopy, thoracic ultrasound and hybrid-theatre image-guided surgery.
Prior starting her surgical training, she was fascinated by humanitarian medical work and joined Doctors without borders (MSF). She spent 11 months at Darfur border in Chad, Africa as a field MD and additional 5 months setting up an emergency room at the Afghani border in Pakistan.
Augusta Paulikaite, BSc (Hons), MBBS* - SCTS WiCTS Medical Student Representative
Final-Year Medical Student
The IWD 2025 theme, “Accelerate Action,” is a call to break barriers, take decisive steps, and push for gender equality—something I have been doing throughout my journey in medicine and beyond.
Before medical school, I was a personal trainer specialising in strength training—an industry, like surgery, where women are often underrepresented. By stepping forward, I encouraged other women to challenge stereotypes and claim their space. Now, as a future cardiothoracic surgeon, I continue to push boundaries in a specialty where women remain the minority.
As President of the Cardiothoracic Surgical Society, I organised our first-ever conference and took members to wet labs beyond Brighton, creating hands-on opportunities for aspiring surgeons. Now, as a member of the SCTS Women’s Workforce Committee, I am working to accelerate progress for women in surgery—because at the current pace, true gender equality is still generations away.
It’s time to act faster, push harder, and demand change—not just for us, but for the women who come next. Together, let’s #AccelerateAction.
Alice Copperwheat - SCTS WiCTS Core Surgical Trainee Representative
Hi I am Alice, a trainee in the West Midlands. I love mentoring and teaching surgical skills, both in the operating room and through my podcast, The Atrium, where I support and inspire cardiothoracic trainees by sharing insights, experiences, and practical advice. When I’m not scrubbing in, you’ll find me at CrossFit, taking care of my ever-growing plant collection, attempting to crochet or being a cat mum. You will rarely catch me without my lip gloss and my giant pink glittery water bottle.
Laura Clark - SCTS WiCTS Research Cardiothoracic Surgery Representative
Hello, my name is Laura, and I am the Research Cardiothoracic Surgery Representative for WinCTS. I currently work as clinical research fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and I am in the first year of my PhD, using Positron Emission Tomography to investigate saphenous vein graft failure. I have been incredibly passionate about cardiothoracic surgery from an early stage in my career. Alongside my colleagues, I hope to provide the kind of positive representation in the specialty that inspired me as a medical student. I look forward to collaborating with my team to champion the voices of women in CTS.
“It’s okay to be any kind of woman you wanna be. I wish the world would see that.” – Lindsey Way
Heen Shamaz - SCTS WiCTS Medical Student Representative
My name is Heen Shamaz and I am a 5th year medical student at The University of Edinburgh. Currently I am the SCTS student education committee (INSINC) lead and becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon is my dream job!
Although I love science, academia, and research, I have many creative interests too in video production
YouTuber @H.S.TV
“You can’t be what you can’t see” is a moto I follow in my daily life; therefore, I strive to serve as a positive role model, adapting, problem solving, and lifting as I climb my way to reaching my aspirations.
BUT of course none of this is possible without my family so really all credit goes to them!
Looking forward to working together with these amazing women to bring you all a more inclusive future in cardiothoracic surgery:)
Rashmi Burla - SCTS WiCTS Cardiac Surgery Representative (Scotland)
I am a Cardiac surgeon with special interest in Aortic Surgery and adult cardiac surgery. I recipient of Francis Fontan Aortic fellowship, which I am utilising to develop my Aortic interests further. I am a QI lead for my department and involved in several QI projects locally. I am also a member of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee for the SCTS nationally. I am actively involved in education of medical students locally. I have a masters in Research and wish to expand my research portfolio in the near future. I am married and a mother of two kids. With husband working away, I cant say it was easy parenting the kids and juggling with job commitments, but then that would be true of any profession. It is the passion for the job that gets us through. I firmly believe with some organisational skills, it is very much possible for women to break through the glass ceilings and pursue a career in Cardiothoracic Surgery. What can help further? Dealing with the unconscious bias in and surrounding us. . I am delighted to become a member of the WICTS and my main pursuit remains ‘equal treatment, not special'.
Rhian Allen - SCTS WiCTS Trainee Cardiothoracic Surgery Representative (Wales)
I am a Cardiothoracic trainee in the Wales Deanery, currently working in cardiac surgery at the University Hospital of Wales. Prior to this, I studied postgraduate Medicine at Swansea University, where I successfully established the Swansea Women in Surgery Society, with the support of local female surgeons and the aim of encouraging female medical students to fulfil their surgical career aspirations. It is where I was first inspired to pursue a career in Cardiothoracic surgery.
It is both a pleasure and an honour to have the opportunity to collaborate with such accomplished female surgeons in the WICTS network, working towards a shared goal of achieving equality at work, supporting each other in pursuing our career ambitions and contributing to research on issues affecting women in surgery.
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