Indian women in anaesthesia research: Touching the academic peaks

The Sanskrit phrase Nārī samājasya kuśala-vāstukārā, meaning “Woman is the skilled architect of society,” aptly captures the evolving role of Indian women as architects of academic growth. The journey of women anaesthesiologists in India has involved both opportunities and challenges. Their research activities are often carried out alongside heavy clinical duties, teaching responsibilities, and family commitments, demanding intense and sustained planning and self-discipline. For many, progress in research reflects strong motivation, good time management, and careful organisation. The Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (ISA), the foremost professional body in the country, has approximately 51,000 members, of whom nearly 52% are women. The progression of Indian women in anaesthesiology research is reflected in their growing presence across multiple tiers of editorial governance within the Indian Journal of Anaesthesia (IJA), the official journal of ISA. First published in July 1953, the IJA has had 17 Editors-in-Chief. The appointment of the first woman Editor-in-Chief in 2007 marked a significant milestone in the journal’s leadership history. The current Editor-in-Chief represents the second instance of female leadership at the helm. Similarly, the Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology (JOACP), the official journal of the Research Society of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology, was guided by a woman Editor-in-Chief for 9 years (2013–2021), a period marked by notable academic consolidation and strengthening of the journal’s stature. Other sub-speciality journals that have, at various points, been led by women include the Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia (2015–2017) and the Indian Journal of Palliative Care (2007–2018). In a recent recognition by the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), highlighting anaesthesiology female innovators, pioneers, and leaders, six Indian women anaesthesiologists were featured. The list began with Dr Rupa Bai Furdoonji, widely acknowledged as the world’s first female anaesthesiologist and a pioneering figure associated with the Hyderabad chloroform commissions of 1888 to 1891, along with five other Indian women recognised for their significant contributions to clinical practice, education, and leadership within anaesthesiology.1,2 Further highlighting this global presence, the current Editor-in-Chief of Anaesthesia Tutorial of the Week (ATOTW), an official educational initiative of the WFSA, is an Indian woman anaesthesiologist. The expanding scope of anaesthesiology, encompassing core practice and multiple sub-specialities, has been accompanied by a corresponding growth in academic literature. While early textbook editorial leadership in anaesthesiology showed broader male predominance, recent years demonstrate a discernible transition, with women assuming increasingly visible roles in the authorship and editorial stewardship of contemporary texts. While the following examples represent a selective and non-exhaustive sample, they illustrate the expanding academic footprint of women. In core anaesthesiology, contributions include recent editions of Understanding Anesthesia Equipment (Dorsch and Dorsch, 2022), South Asia editions of Stoelting’s Anesthesia and Co-Existing Disease (2024) and Barash’s Clinical Anesthesia (2024), and works such as Comprehensive Clinical Anesthesia (2022), The Airway Manual (2023), Textbook of Equipments in Anesthesia (2022), and Understanding Anesthetic Equipment and Procedures (Baheti and Laheri, 2025). Beyond core anaesthesiology texts, women have contributed to authoritative works across multiple sub-specialities such as obstetric anaesthesia, pain medicine, cardiac, paediatric, trauma, and onco-anaesthesia. Although consolidated national statistics are limited, current trends indicate that women represent a substantial proportion, over 40%, of Heads of Departments of Anaesthesiology across India. Similarly, executive and administrative roles within the ISA at state and city levels have a near-equal gender representation, approximating a ratio of 50:50. Female participation and success in ISA award categories are also comparable to those of their male counterparts. This trend shows the enthusiasm of women anaesthesiologists in engaging with academic activities as well as the recognition of their contributions within the professional community Figure 1.Figure 1: Gender-wise distribution of Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (ISA) National award winners in 2022 and 2024Inclusion of women in editorial roles within the IJA has expanded over the last decade Figure 2. Currently, women constitute 33% of associate editors, 25% of assistant editors, 30% of editorial board members, and 26% of national advisors of IJA. Notably, women have been included as national advisors since 2023.Figure 2: Percentage of women in various editorial roles of Indian Journal of Anaesthesia over the years. Data were derived from one representative issue for each year. ★Indicate years in which specific editorial sections were not introduced or had been discontinued and do not imply the absence of female representationDuring the 5-year period from 2021 to 2025, eight Indian guidelines were published in IJA, with women contributing to each.3–10 Eleven of 12 ‘Special articles’ addressing anaesthesiology and its sub-specialities as career pathways include women contributors, with women serving as first authors in six of these publications.11–16 Two additional ‘Special articles’, focussing on ‘Competency-based medical education’ and ‘Modular curriculum for postgraduate training,’ further exemplify the role of women as contributors shaping the educational architecture of the speciality.17,18 The two ISA advisory and position statements issued in June and July 2021 during the coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic likewise reflect continued scholarly engagement despite the simultaneous demands of clinical duties, academic responsibilities, and personal and familial obligations during the global crisis.19,20 The contribution of Indian women anaesthesiologists to peer review, the backbone of any scientific journal, is equally noteworthy. Among the top 100 peer reviewers of IJA in 2024, 41 were women.21 Moreover, the proportion of women among “Best Peer Reviewer” awardees has shown a steady upward trend over the past 5 years, highlighting their expanding role in this critical, yet often unseen academic work Figure 3.Figure 3: The stacked bars represent the annual percentage of women and men recipients of “Best Peer Reviewer” award from 2021 to 2025 for Indian Journal of AnaesthesiaWhile their steady presence is noteworthy, women’s overall numerical representation continues to lag behind that of men. This is particularly striking given that Indian women contributed over 50% of research articles as first or corresponding authors in the IJA and JOACP during 2023–2024.22 In contrast, invited guest editorials in these journals reflect comparatively limited female leadership, with women accounting for 13% of first authors and 11% of corresponding authors.22 This divergence suggests that while women demonstrate strong research productivity, their visibility within invited thought-leadership and opinion-shaping platforms remains disproportionately low. A similar pattern is observed globally.23–25 Women remain underrepresented on the editorial boards of the top 20 high-impact anaesthesiology journals, comprising approximately 18%–29% of positions despite their increasing presence within the speciality.26 Although representation on editorial boards rose from about 12% in 2010 to nearly 19% in 2020, women continue to be infrequently represented in senior leadership roles such as Editor-in-Chief.26 Furthermore, while female authorship in anaesthesiology journals has increased to approximately 32%–40%, this growth has not translated into proportional representation in editorial decision-making positions.26 With continued encouragement and institutional support, the trajectory should head towards a more balanced and inclusive academic landscape in the future. The IJA has taken a landmark step by publishing an “all-women” issue in September 2020 to recognise the contributions of women in the field and promote their participation in research and leadership.27 The College of Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (CISA), the academic wing of the ISA dedicated to advancing education, training, and research in anaesthesiology, reflects gender parity in its academic leadership. The Dean positions overseeing research and guidelines, curriculum and regulatory affairs and continued medical education (CME), and post-graduate (PG) assembly workshops are presently held by women. The two books published by CISA, ‘Research and dissertation writing for postgraduate students’ and ‘Recent advances in paediatric anaesthesia’, also feature women prominently in editorial and authorship roles. Across professions, not limited to medicine, women who attain leadership positions often do so through sustained commitment and resilience. As Indra Nooyi, former chief executive officer of PepsiCo, has observed in leadership forums, women often find themselves having to invest significantly more effort than men to achieve comparable recognition in professional settings. Although societal progress continues to narrow this disparity, differences in expectations and opportunities still subtly influence professional trajectories. Beyond structural inequities, the differential uptake of leadership roles may also be shaped by time constraints, mentorship opportunities, and the balancing of professional and personal responsibilities. The ascent of women in Indian anaesthesia is not incidental. It is built upon scholarship, service, and sustained resilience. As their presence expands across research authorship, editorial governance, peer review, guideline development, and educational leadership, the discipline itself stands benefitted. At the same time, their underrepresentation in invited editorials, senior editorial roles, and high-impact decision-making positions in India and globally shows that recognition and influence have not yet fully matched their productivity. The journey towards full parity may be ongoing, but the direction is towards inclusivity, equity, and academic excellence that ultimately strengthens the speciality and patient care. Continued progress will depend on strengthening mentorship frameworks and cultivating supportive workplace environments that enable more women to step into academic and leadership roles with confidence. As this ascent continues, the true peak will be reached when every aspiring anaesthesiologist finds in it both inspiration and an open pathway upward. Study data availability Not applicable. Disclosure of use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assistive or generative tools The AI tools or language models (LLM) have not been utilised in the manuscript, except that software has been used for grammar corrections. Author contributions SR was involved in concepts, literature search, data acquisition, data analyses, manuscript preparation, editing, review and approval. RS was involved in concepts, literature search, data acquisition, data analyses, manuscript preparation, review and approval. SM was involved in concepts, literature search, data acquisition, manuscript preparation, review and approval. KC was involved in concepts, manuscript preparation, editing, review and approval.