Achieving Equity for Women in Medicine 

The intellectual training required of the doctor is admirably adapted to the deficiencies of the ordinary experience of women. Intellectual qualities to be acquired during student life are the ability to observe the patient, to express precisely what is observed, and to carefully draw conclusions from these observations. In medicine, anatomy, physiology, and chemistry are the principal studies that must lay the foundation of conscientious accuracy, upon which the skill of the future physician depends.  

Career advancement and economic success for female physicians requires overcoming gender norms (real and perceived) in a profession that remains male-dominated. Evidence suggests that female physicians can perform at the same level as male physicians, and that gender diversity improves organizational value and performance, but women still do not enjoy the same levels of opportunity and compensation.  

The number of women becoming doctors has increased significantly and gender parity in medical school admissions and graduates is approaching achievement. However, women in medicine continue to face high rates of sexual harassment and gender discrimination, resulting in inequities in their representation across disciplines and in leadership and leadership positions across disciplines.  

A pay gap exists between male and female physicians, even after accounting for differences in specialty areas, leadership positions, experience, productivity, and other factors that influence pay. The efforts to address gender inequality among physicians and argue that fundamental changes in the way physicians’ work is conceptualized, organized, and evaluated are necessary for the male-dominated culture of medicine to thrive.  

Source Article: Female participation or “feminization” of medicine 

Recommended Readings: 

• The Influence of Women in the Profession of Medicine: Address Given at the Opening of the Winter Session of the London School of Medicine for Women 
• Women in Spanish institutional medicine leadership: The glass ceiling remains seemingly invulnerable 
• Programmatic approaches to achieving equity for women in anesthesiology