The status of women in naturopathy: A view from the United States and Australia

Abstract

Like other professionalized heterodox medical systems in Western societies, naturopathic practitioners and the leaders of naturopathic professional associations historically appear to have been predominantly males. Conversely, this situation appears to have started to change in the 1970s. Today the vast majority of naturopathic students and naturopathic practitioners in the United States and Australia, are women. While women have moved into positions of leadership in the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, various Australian naturopathic professional associations, and naturopathic training programs in both the US and Australia, the presence of men in positions of organizational and education leadership appears to exceed their diminished numbers as practitioners. Bearing these thoughts in mind, this essay explores why women have been drawn to naturopathy in great numbers and the political-economic and socio-cultural forces that still hinder their professional development as practitioners and professional leaders within the contexts of the American and Australian dominative medical systems.