Despite the promising progress in tackling gender disparity in medicine, women still face several obstacles and hindrances when working and training as doctors. Women are typically rated less highly than men during medical school and residency. A study in 2010 found that men are more likely to be viewed as quick learners – a gender bias that plays a significant role in the assessment of female students.
Once qualified, countless other harmful gender biases undoubtedly hinder female physicians. The inherent assumption that the woman is the prime caretaker in the family often leads to female physicians taking on the majority of parental responsibility, despite the high demands from their job.
Long working hours lead to more female physicians getting divorced than their male colleagues, who generally have less responsibility at home. Divorce rates in male physicians decrease with higher working hours. This overload of responsibility has severe consequences for female physicians’ mental and physical health, who are more likely to experience symptoms of burnout – emotional exhaustion, feelings of failure, and detachment – than their male counterparts.
These emotional struggles are further exaggerated since female physicians are still paid significantly less than their male colleagues. Despite the great strides in leveling out the numbers of male and female physicians, research still shows that the gender earnings gap exists.
Due to the numerous transitions in recent years, healthcare institutions are now responsible for altering their practices in line with supporting female physicians. This can be challenging mainly due to the majority of executive and administrative roles being male-dominated.