An Association for Women Surgeons Developed Toolkit for Cross-Mentoring in Surgery

Summary: As our surgical workforce diversifies, mentoring relationships will need to evolve and become more inclusive for a diverse population of mentees with various backgrounds and identities. Concerted efforts to develop skills in cross-mentoring, or mentoring across differences, is essential to address the needs of mentors and mentees in surgery. The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) HeForShe Committee developed a curriculum of six virtual, interactive sessions to highlight a topic or identity group, facilitating discussion around barriers in a successful mentoring relationship. Herein we present each topic covered, with the background information shared in the curriculum, as well as strategies and best-practices that were developed throughout each discussion.