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male influence on girls at young ages is the first step to future female success. For young women to display confidence, they must be exposed to opportunities to do so. For the first female plastic surgery leaders to exist in a male-dominated profession, at least one male was required to recognize the importance and value of female presence in the field and to provide an opportunity for female participation within the profession. Without that male support and respect, the female role in plastic surgery might be very different today. As such, male mentorship and sponsorship has been instrumental in the current growth of female presence seen in today’s landscape. Because plastic surgery is still largely male dominated, higher-ranking positions in private practice, academia, and national societies have been chiefly offered to and occupied by males. Although female mentorship provides young female surgeons with invaluable skillset knowledge, studies have shown that females with high-ranking male mentors report more career sponsorship precisely because of these powerful positions held by men and the opportunities they afford.54,57 As females continue to enter the profession of plastic surgery, male mentorship and sponsorship will continue to play a vital role in furthering their career success. Continued respect and awareness of gender bias with “a carefully considerate mind” will enhance that success exponentially.20 Along with their female colleagues, males in plastic surgery should boost female presence in our community by offering the young female surgeon encouragement in her career pursuits, opportunities to participate in larger-scale endeavors, a voice at leadership tables, and, most importantly, an example of change that supports diversity and acceptance for a more well-rounded profession. In turn, the young female plastic surgeon of today needs to seize these opportunities. Her responsibilities lie in publishing her work, presenting at symposia, speaking on the podium, promoting her work and publications through networks and on social media, and getting involved in societies and mentorship for the future generation. She should honor those who have come before her by maintaining grace and paying it forward. It is this type of environment that creates opportunities that facilitate future leadership, advance gender parity, and cultivate a sense of belonging within the plastic surgery community.58 It is this type of environment that allows all brilliant minds to flourish. CONCLUSIONS International Women’s Day this past year celebrated a multitude of female achievements and success. Although we have accomplished a great deal in the way of gender parity, there is still more work to be done to achieve balance within plastic surgery. Leadership, mentorship, and, most importantly, continued sponsorship are vital means by which we can achieve this worthy goal. Disclosures The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article. Funding The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and publication of this article. REFERENCES 1. International Women’s Day. www.internationalwomensday. com/theme. Accessed October 10, 2019. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/asj/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/asj/sjz299/5609346 by guest on 14 February 2020 Moak et al 7 2. Employment Discrimination. Cornell Law. Legal Infor - mation Institute website. sed October 20, 2019. 4. Bolotnyy V, Emanuel N. Why Do Women Earn Less Than Men? Evidence from Bus and Train Operators. https:// scholar.harvard.edu/files/bolotnyy/files/be_gender_gap. pdf. Accessed October 16, 2019. 5. Hutchinson A, McGuire EK, Rosenbluth FM, Yamagishi H. The political economy of gender. Groups and Identities, Political Economy. 2019. doi: 10.1093/acref ore/9780190228637.013.616. 6. The Gender Gap in Employment: What’s Holding Women Back? International Labour Organization. https://www. ilo.org/infostories/en-GB/Stories/Employment/barrierswomen#what-women. Published 2017. Updated 2018. Accessed October 9, 2019. 7. Lautenberger DM, Dandar VM, Claudia MA, Raezer L, Sloane RA. The state of women in academic medicine: the pipeline and pathways to leadership. Assoc Amer Med Coll. 2014;1-17. 8. Jena AB, Olenski AR, Blumenthal DM. Sex differences in physician salary in US public medical schools. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(9):1294-1304. 9. Morgan AU, Chaiyachati KH, Weissman GE, Liao JM. Eliminating gender-based bias in academic medicine: more than naming the “elephant in the room”. J Gen Intern Med. 2018;33(6):966-968. 10. Farkas AH, Bonifacino E, Turner R, Tilstra SA, Corbelli JA. Mentorship of women in academic medicine: a systematic review. 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