Increasing female representation in surgery can enhance mentorship and attract more women to the field.

• Higher percentages of female residents correlate with more female applicants (r = 0.943, p < 0.0001).
• The strongest correlation was seen in urology (r = 1.0, p < 0.0001), followed by general surgery (r = 0.944, p = 0.016).

Prioritizing gender diversity in residency programs could improve recruitment and ultimately lead to a more inclusive surgical workforce.

• Other specialties showed varying levels of correlation.