“For most of history, anonymous was a woman.” -Virginia Woolf

There is a major underrepresentation of women in interventional cardiology. While 50% of medical school graduates in the United States are women, only 21% of cardiology fellowships are awarded to women, and only 4.5% are operators performing coronary interventional procedures (Grines L et al. JAHA 2021.). 

In this in-depth and candid discussion led by USC Section editor Dr Anastasia Mihailidou, Mr Burt Cohen, archivist of angioplasty uncovers the role of women in the development of PCI. Who were these professionals and what was their role in development of PCI?
 
Recognised interventionalist faculty Dr Roxana Mehran, co-founder of Women as One and Dr. Shrilla Banerjee, elected member of the Education Committee for the British Cardiovascular Society and co-chair of the Focus Group for Women in Intervention reflect on the history and future of women in the sub-speciality and pose the questions: How did the existing culture become dominant in interventional cardiology? What are the currently existing institutional practices that are still holding back women? Why should women choose this sub-speciality? What is their advice for early career cardiologists?

Recorded remotely from Redhill, New York and Sidney, 2021. 

Editor: Mirjam Boros