Gender Role Stereotype and Poor Working Condition Pose Obstacles for Female Doctors to Stay in Full-Time Employment: Alumnae Survey from Two Private Medical Schools in Japan

Abstract

The shortage of physicians has become a serious problem in Japan. It has been pointed out that an increase in the number of female doctors may contribute to the aggravation of this shortage because it is known that women work fewer hours than male doctors. Here, we investigated how many female doctors had ever resigned from a full-time position, and elucidated the reasons why female doctors find it difficult to stay in full-time employment. An alumnae survey of 2 private medical schools was conducted in 2007. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 1423 graduates and 711 responded with informed consent (response rate, 50%; mean age, 39 years). Overall, 55% of the respondents had previously resigned from full-time employment, of which 90% resigned within 10 years of graduating from medical school. The difficulty in balancing work, childbirth and child rearing (45%) were the top 2 reasons for resignation, followed by physical problems (12%) and long working hours (8%). Among those who resigned, only 33% returned to full-time employment. Women who had at least 1 child were only 30% of those who had never resigned and 84% of those who had previously resigned. The majority of study subjects, regardless of experience of resignation (88%), agreed that women should continue to work even after childbirth. In conclusion, the results of this study suggested that many female doctors resigned from a full-time position within 10 years of graduating from medical school, largely because of the gender role stereotype and poor working conditions.

Time to address gender inequalities against female physicians

“…In Japan, it has been reported that out of a population of resigned female physicians, 90% resigned within 10 years of graduation from medical school. The difficulty in balancing work, and childbirth, and balancing work and raising children were the top 2 reasons for resignation, accounting for 45% of resignation …”

“…The difficulty in balancing work, and childbirth, and balancing work and raising children were the top 2 reasons for resignation, accounting for 45% of resignation. 21 Pregnancy and family responsibilities prevent female health care professionals from pursuing more specialized leadership and management positions. Likewise, studies indicate that gender stereotypes persist in the health care workforce and that female health care professionals often choose specialties with lighter workloads that allow them to balance work and family.…”

The difficulty of professional continuation among female doctors in Japan: a qualitative study of alumnae of 13 medical schools in Japan

“…This may explain the lack of support and understanding from colleagues when women become pregnant and may be one of the main reasons women leave work completely rather than take maternity leave. 4 …”

“…Previous research has shown that female doctors in Japan work fewer hours, retire earlier and are more likely to be professionally inactive, compared with their male counterparts. 4 A survey of 711 Japanese female doctors revealed that 55% had resigned from full-time positions at least once, and only 30% of these women returned to full-time employment. 5 It is known that women in Japan often stop working while in their 30s, after having had children, and then return to the workforce after they have finished raising their children.…”

The Perception and Experience of Gender-Based Discrimination Related to Professional Advancement among Japanese Physicians

“…However, this may not mean that there is less gender-based obstacles in the work environment for physicians in Japan. Female physicians in Japan are often faced with binary choice of family and career in the very early stages of their careers due to the double burden that stems from the long and erratic work hours, inadequate infrastructural child care support, and lack of spouses' participation in domestic work (Yasukawa and Nomura 2012;Izumi et al 2013). In a nationwide survey by the Japan Medical Association, 64.1% of female physicians reported that the biggest concern regarding their career was the difficulty of balancing career and family responsibilities (Japan Medical Association 2009).…”