In this episode, host Susan Biggar talks with two women in surgery, Dr Victoria Atkinson, cardiac surgeon and Chief Medical Officer of Healthscope and Dr Vera Sallen, orthopaedic surgeon. This is part one of a two-part series on women in surgery. In professions that are underrepresented by women, we hear what this means for the women who work in surgery, and what changes they would like to see. Victoria and Vera tell us their stories of becoming surgeons, successes they see around them as well as frustrations they still feel. They tell us about the feeling when they look around the theatre and they are surrounded by women, what it felt like to progress through their careers as female surgeons and the pros and cons of quotas in their workplace.Don’t forget to subscribe for future episodes and of course peruse our back catalogue by searching for ‘Taking care’ in your podcast player. For feedback and questions, please email communications@ahpra.gov.au.