Sexism Encountered in O&P

Author’s note: We would like to clarify that the students who encountered the harassment and discrimination situation describe below opted against submitting a formal complaint due to their unfortunate, albeit realistic, concerns about potential repercussions of doing so. At this time, a formal complaint is the only available path that would require the Academy or ABC to take action. Hence, we submitted an article on their behalf in order to shed light on this event and seek the support of the profession in the stance against acts of discrimination and harassment of colleagues. Despite the standards set forth by the Academy’s Code of Conduct and ABC’s Code of Professional Responsibility, egregious incidences such as this one do occur and need to stop. One of the students remarked that this was the most disrespectful interaction of her life. Regardless of the involved clinician’s intentions, their actions have undoubtably left a lasting impact on two budding clinicians.

It may be surprising to see an article with this title in 2024. Unfortunately, despite the years of progress and the many contributions by women in O&P, some practitioners still hold antiquated views.