Association of Women Surgeons 2020 Presidential Address: Sculpting our Future

This article is a textual record of the Presidential Address from the Association of Women Surgeons Annual Conference in 2020. This year (2020) has been a tumultuous year exposing inequities in Surgery and health care. Even during these challenging times, the ability to sculpt our future rests in our hands. We will do this by returning to our values based on resilience, by advocating for equity, by speaking up for our future colleagues and by changing the perception of who may be a surgeon. Progress will require a change in the status quo so that a surgeon is defined not be her phenotype but by her strong mind, caring heart and skillful hands. During our journey, we will try and fail but we will not let failure deter us. We will collaborate with each other and our colleagues. Much like a sculptor who use the fissures, cracks, and imperfections of the stone to guide her masterpiece, we too will use these challenges to sculpt our future.