Quote:Dr. Kharazi recalled how she once told a male surgeon that she planned to ask for operating privileges at his hospital in order to expand her practice. “And he told me, ‘Well, it’s generally not a good idea to go where you’re not invited.’”

The lesson here: “My entire life has essentially consisted of going where I wasn’t invited,” Dr. Kharazi said. If she hadn’t, she said, “I would be nowhere now.”

Quote:So went the second annual meeting of Women in Thoracic Surgery, a group for the less than 10 percent of heart and lung surgeons in the United States who are women, one of the smallest percentages of any surgical specialty. Women make up about 30 percent of surgeons in the United States overall, and a little less than 40 percent of all physicians.

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The women say the good news today is that some 500 women have been certified as thoracic surgeons in the United States, although there are less than that in active practice — still, enough for them to hold a conference. (The terms “thoracic” and “cardiothoracic” are used interchangeably to refer to doctors who operate on the organs in the chest cavity.)

But the women presented surveys showing that on average they still make 20 percent less than men of the same experience, are not promoted at the same rate and lack mentors. They face what they say is persistent sexual harassment on the job and struggle with having children while working 80-hour weeks in their prime childbearing years. Although some 25 percent of cardiothoracic trainees — interns, residents and fellows — are now women, attrition remains high.