Frontline Femmes: Women Reshaping Retina at APVRS 2025

Women in retina take the mic, spotlighting data, equity and serious momentum.

Retina may be a tiny slice of anatomy, but the women shaping its future are operating on a much grander scale. This Day 1 symposium at the 18th Congress of the Asia-Pacific Vitreo-Retina Society (APVRS 2025) spotlighted trailblazers who are building training programs, shifting gender dynamics, reinventing career paths and—when necessary—politely dismantling long-standing structural barriers with surgical precision. From Manila to Beijing, Jakarta to Tokyo, and even across continents, these women are redefining what leadership in vitreoretina looks like.

What follows is a tour through their stories—equal parts educational, candid and refreshingly bold—offering a vivid look at how women in retina are transforming the field.

Building training programs in the Philippines

When a country’s retinal disease burden spikes, it takes visionaries to build the pipeline needed to match it. Dr. Jocelyn Sy opened the symposium with insights on establishing a vitreoretinal fellowship program at the National Eye Referral Center in the Philippines. She began with a powerful quote from a Filipino ophthalmologist: “Each time that we save a patient’s sight, we restore not just vision but a life, a livelihood and a future.”

From there, Dr. Sy whisked the audience through the program’s evolution, beginning with its modest roots in 1986 when Dr. Rodolfo Chuanico established the Department of Ophthalmology at East Avenue Medical Center. Fast-forward to 2002, when she returned from training at the Singapore National Eye Center: fresh, determined and armed with the expertise that would guide the service’s next chapter.

The urgency of their mission has since only intensified. Retinal disease is rising rapidly in the Philippines, with diabetic patients aged 20 to 70 jumping from 1.2 million in 2000 to 4.7 million in 2024…and projected to reach 8.6 million by 2050.¹

“We see an increased trend as our census continues to grow by 10 to 13 percent every year,” Dr. Sy noted. With too few vitreoretinal specialists to meet this demand, the need for structured training became impossible to ignore.

Their two-year fellowship program, launched in 2016, delivers deep clinical exposure, hands-on surgical experience, one-on-one mentorship, and research aligned with national and international standards. The program has since expanded to include a medical retina uveitis fellowship, and with a 47% increase in surgical volume, the team is now tackling even more sight-threatening conditions.

Education and gender shifts in China

Some countries reshape a subspecialty. China went ahead and rewrote the entire syllabus. Prof. Xiaoxin Li, past president of APVRS and former chairman of the Chinese Ophthalmology Society, shared her experience in developing retinal training programs in China and the evolution of gender dynamics in the field.

After completing her retinal fellowship in Germany, she returned to China in 1986 to join Peking University, where she launched a vitreoretinal fellowship course in 1994. Under her leadership, the department expanded from a small team of six doctors into a tertiary hospital with robust subspecialty branches.

Prof. Li also highlighted some striking gender trends in Chinese ophthalmology. “From 1980 to 2000, for refractive surgery, 90% were men. For cataract surgery, it was also dominated by men. But in vitreoretinal surgery, women were dominant,” she reported. In recent years, however, the balance has evened out across subspecialties.

This evolution helped spark the creation of the Chinese Women Eye Doctor Association in 2014. The group places strong emphasis on education and hands-on surgical training—particularly wet and dry lab experiences—to help fill gaps in residency programs.

“Our women doctors have done very much for education and training,” Prof. Li stated. “They always take responsibility for the hard work. They really need respect and honor in our team.”

Growing female representation in Indonesia

Indonesia’s retina workforce is expanding fast, though the geography isn’t always cooperating. Dr. Gitalisa Andayani Adriono presented data on the growing number of female vitreoretinal doctors in Indonesia and their unique challenges. She noted that while female representation in vitreoretinal fields remains low globally (up to 19% in 2018), Indonesia has seen significant growth.

According to Dr. Adriono, the Indonesian Vitreoretinal Society (INOVRS) has witnessed a striking rise in female members, climbing from 33% more than a decade ago to nearly 50% in 2025. Still, the map tells a familiar story: most specialists continue to cluster on Java Island, leaving other regions comparatively underserved.

“Despite significant rise in female VR specialists in Indonesia, there are still important disparities, especially in surgical exposure, career progression and leadership representation,” Dr. Adriono said, sharing results from a recent survey of INOVRS members.

The survey found that although workplace satisfaction was high across genders, women more often reported unmet expectations and decreased family time. Top barriers to advancement included maternity leave-related career pauses, cultural expectations of constant availability and limited workplace flexibility.

“To support equitable advancement, the field would benefit from increased flexibility in training, dedicated mentorship structures, family-friendly workplaces, and intentional efforts to promote women in surgical, academic and leadership pathways,” Dr. Adriono concluded.

International transitions

If practicing retina is complex, try doing it while navigating visas, licensing boards and a new health system all at once. Dr. Pear Ferreira (Canada) shared her personal experience of relocating from Thailand to North America, offering valuable insights on international transitions in vitreoretinal practice.

“Career development is a lifelong process,” Dr. Ferreira emphasized. She described how moving from her comfort zone of 17 years at Rajavithi Hospital in Thailand to a new practice in Canada required not just adapting to different medical systems but also personal resilience.

Her list of challenges would make any globetrotting surgeon nod in sympathy: licensing hurdles, differences in practice structures, language quirks and cultural recalibration. “In Thailand, I work in a tertiary hospital where most cases are referrals or walk-ins. In Canada, 100% of cases are referrals, so I spend three to four hours daily writing referral letters,” she explained.

Dr. Ferreira advised preparing early: gather key documents such as driving records, plan finances meticulously and research accommodation options thoroughly. She also introduced the SORT transition theory (Situation, Self, Support, Strategy) as a practical guide for navigating change.

“Write down what this transition is, explore what you have, what support you have and develop strategies to cope,” she suggested.

“Transition is just a process,” Dr. Ferreira concluded. “It’s challenging but creates opportunities to grow, especially for the younger generation.”

The power of mentorship in Malaysia

When one mentor lights the way, an entire subspecialty can find its path. Dr. Nor Fariza Ngah shared her journey of establishing medical retina services in Malaysia and the crucial role of mentorship in empowering women in the field.

“Two decades ago, I obtained a journey that would shape not only my career but also the landscape of ophthalmology in Malaysia,” Dr. Ngah recalled. In 2003, she became the first Malaysian doctor sent to pursue medical retinal training in London, returning in 2004 to establish Malaysia’s first medical retina service in the public health system.

Starting as a single-handed specialist, she quickly realized the transformative power of mentorship and began recruiting and training new specialists, especially women. “When we talked about retina 20 years ago, it meant vitreoretina, and the majority were men. So I thought, ‘medical retina and uveitis—we need women in this field.’”

Her team went on to build training programs, launch retinal disease awareness efforts, implement diabetic retinopathy screening protocols and initiate research collaborations. They also created a local fellowship program for women unable to train abroad due to family responsibilities. Among the team’s proudest milestones? Developing AI for diabetic retinopathy screening that has since been adopted into national health policy.

“Looking back at every step in my journey—from those uncertain early days in London to the thriving medical retina service we have today in Malaysia—has been powered by great mentorship, mastery and deep commitment to medicine,” she concluded.

Addressing structural gender gaps in Japan

Japan’s retina community is advancing, but the climb toward gender equity remains steep and deeply systemic. Dr. Keiko Kataoka presented a stark picture of gender disparities in Japanese vitreoretinal practice, highlighting both cultural and structural barriers.

“I found our Japanese gender gap is one of the most severe compared to other Asian countries,” Dr. Kataoka stated. Data showed Japan ranking at the bottom of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries for female physician representation.² While ophthalmology historically ranks seventh among specialties for female participation in Japan, leadership positions remain dominated by men.³

In the Japanese Retina and Vitreoretinal Society (JRVS), only 21.7% of first presenters and 16.1% of moderators were women in 2023—numbers that underscore even stronger male dominance than in other ophthalmology subspecialties.

“In Japan, traditional gender roles remain strong. Society views childcare and housekeeping as a woman’s family responsibility,” Dr. Kataoka noted, outlining several root causes. Survey data reinforced this, showing female doctors spending significantly more time on household chores, childcare and nursing care than their male colleagues, often while also having spouses in full-time work.⁴

Compounding these pressures is the ikyoku system, Japan’s distinctive academic structure that blends university department, personnel agency and training body functions. “Advancement is often based on seniority rather than just merit. For women who took maternity leave, this seniority system acts as a glass ceiling,” she explained.

Signs of change are emerging. The JRVS has introduced new election regulations with a gender quota ensuring that at least 20% of director positions are held by the underrepresented gender. “This is a historical step forward,” Dr. Kataoka noted.

Editor’s Note: This content is intended exclusively for healthcare professionals. It is not intended for the general public. Products or therapies discussed may not be registered or approved in all jurisdictions, including Singapore. Reporting for this story took place during the 18th Congress of the Asia-Pacific Vitreo-Retina Society (APVRS 2025) from 12-14 December in Manila, Philippines.

References

Philippines: Diabetes country report 2000 – 2050. International Diabetes Federation. Available at: https://diabetesatlas.org/data-by-location/country/philippines/. Accessed on December 12, 2025.
Ramakrishnan A, Sambuco D, Jagsi R. Women’s participation in the medical profession: Insights from experiences in Japan, Scandinavia, Russia and Eastern Europe. J Womens Health. 2014;23(11):927-934.
Iwasaki A, Kato N, Morita Y, et al. Investigating gender disparities in ophthalmology departments at medical schools in Japan. IOVS. 2024;65:4191.
Nishida S, Usui E, Oshio T, et al. Motherhood penalty for female physicians in Japan: Evidence from a medical school’s alumni data. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024;24(1):1183.