Women in Perfusion: A Survey of North American Female Perfusionists

Perfusion as a career has long been dominated by men (American Board of
Cardiovascular Perfusion, Booklet of information since 1975). Women
represent 33.3% of the present workforce in North America (1187
certified women). In the 1900s, fewer than 20% of women participated in
the labor force compared with 75% today and growing (1). In addition
women make only 77 cents for every dollar that men earn and the more
education a woman has, the greater the disparity in her wages (2). Only
53% of employers provide at least some replacement pay during periods of
maternity leave (2). The purpose of this survey was to poll women in
perfusion to evaluate concerns and opinions in their careers and to
compare this with the female labor force. In October 2011, a 40-question
survey (surveymonkey.com) was made available to all female
perfusionists in North American by postcard mailing through the American
Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion. There were 538 responses to the
survey, which is 45% of all female certified perfusionists in North
America. A total of 32.6% of the survey participants have been in
perfusion for more than 20 years and 75% are staff perfusionists,
working for a hospital (59.5%) rather than a contract group (36.7%). A
total of 44.7% of women who had children during their employment were
out on leave 10 weeks or less. A total of 95.9% feel they miss important
family functions as a result of their work schedules and 63% consider
themselves under moderate stress. Direct supervision of the participants
by men occurred in 76.5% of cases, and 68.2% felt that they were
treated with the same respect as male coworkers. Nonetheless, 50.9% felt
discriminated against because of gender. This survey suggests that the
female perfusionists in North America share the same difficulties as
women in the labor force. The role of women in society in general is
clearly changing. Female perfusionists will be part of that change.
Seventy percent of those surveyed would recommend perfusion as a career
to both men and women. Keywords: women, workforce, discrimination,
perfusion.