‪Le devenir des femmes en chirurgie‪. La diversité des mondes de socialisation

How can the low number of women attracted by surgery be accounted for? How far can we say that their absence in that profession is unavoidable? The attitude to work of women of the present generation is a far cry from the attitude of their predecessors. Although they represent a majority among those who sit for competitive exams to become medicine students, few of them are actually attracted by surgery, or at least by some surgical specialities. It is possible to define two ?social spheres?, with two different ethos, in which women engage and pursue their careers. The first sphere, that of traditional surgery, is pivotal as it is there that the training takes place. In other specialities an alternative ethos more open to women is to be found, though their access is not immediate. Given the forms of a training period that includes a modern version of trade guilds, the reception of students, be they non-resident students or house doctors, and the interaction with senior physicians play an essential part on their desire to become surgeons. It will be shown that women have to negotiate their social identity during the training period to secure the assistance of senior physicians and to safely make their way through this period in traditional surgery.