Gender and Academic Medicine: A Good Pipeline of Women Graduates Is Not Advancing

Abstract

More women are applying, enrolling and graduating from the University of Split School of Medicine. Women also perform statistically better on entrance exam and have better graduation grades, yet they remain a minority in faculty and leadership positions. A review of county-wise employment statistics revealed that women were more frequently unemployed and less likely to specialize in this study.

Can an early selection system accelerate the maturity of candidates of both genders in medical school?

“…Based on the analysis of a selection system at the end of the third academic year, these observations do not quite corroborate the data in the literature showing a more stable trajectory for female than for male students 10 . Bearing in mind that the selection process increases competition, some authors have shown that female students have higher anxiety than male students and are more motivated to achieve their goals.…”

“…Thus, over the past few decades, European medical studies have seen a significant feminisation of the profession. Certain studies have observed a more stable trajectory for female than for male students 5 , 10 . Generally, these studies have reported that female students have a more positive attitude towards academic work than male students.…”

Impact of a recruitment campaign on students’ applications o medical school

“…Our promotional activity did not affect gender ratio. The predominance of women applicants has been present since the founding of the School of Medicine in Split (12).…”

Turning Croatian Science into Policy

“…This section would have several purposes as follows: (i) to nurture scientist-citizens who can participate effectively in discussions about issues in science and society; (ii) to increase dialogue between scientists, the public, and policymakers, (iii) to promote multidisciplinary interaction among scholars in our community about complex science policy problems, and (iv) to expand public understanding of science. This section could harbor articles similar to the recent editorial by Petrovečki et al (1) or to the two recently published articles by our group (4,5). When the discussions about science policy are published in a peer-reviewed journal, they assume a higher level of importance and significance.…”