Female enrollment into medical schools is increasing worldwide, but gender disparities persist in certain specialties, especially in critical care medicine. Published data on the scale of this issue is scarce and a recent article published in Critical Care sought to understand availability of international data by surveying critical care organisations and national training bodies. In this blog, co-author Geeta Mehta discusses this study and the issues it has highlighted. The value of diversity within our academic critical care community – in our clinicians, educators, and scientists – is indisputable. Without the diversity which reflects our wider communities, we cannot understand the needs and perspectives of our patients, nor adequately represent them. In many countries, women now outnumber men in medical schools, and their numbers are rising within critical care.

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