With the best will in the world: How benevolent sexism shapes medical careers

Stone, Louise; Phillips, Christine; Douglas, Kirsty

doi:10.1111/medu.14038

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This difference in earnings per hour may be associated with women choosing to practice in lower-paying specialties . Such decisions have been attributed to unconscious beliefs and overt sexist attitudes and behaviors during undergraduate and graduate medical education: benevolent sexism, where medical school advisers and mentors encourage women to enter more empathetic specialties; and hostile sexism, where medical students experience overt antipathy during their experiences with certain specialties on the basis of their sex . Additionally, the greater willingness of male physicians to negotiate for higher salaries and the preferential choice of male physicians for positions of leadership could further contribute to differences in earnings …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marriage, Children, and Sex-Based Differences in Physician Hours and Income

et al. 2023

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ImportanceA better understanding of the association between family structure and sex gaps in physician earnings and hours worked over the life cycle is needed to advance policies addressing persistent sex disparities.ObjectiveTo investigate differences in earnings and hours worked for male and female physicians at various ages and family status.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis retrospective, cross-sectional study used data on physicians aged 25 to 64 years responding to the American Community Survey between 2005 and 2019.ExposuresEarned income and work hours.Main Outcomes and MeasuresOutcomes included annual earned income, usual hours worked per week, and earnings per hour worked. Gaps in earnings and hours by sex were calculated by family status and physician age and, in some analyses, adjusted for demographic characteristics and year of survey. Data analyses were conducted between 2019 and 2022.ResultsThe sample included 95 435 physicians (35.8% female, 64.2% male, 19.8% Asian, 4.8% Black, 5.9% Hispanic, 67.3% White, and 2.2% other race or ethnicity) with a mean (SD) age of 44.4 (10.4) years. Relative to male physicians, female physicians were more likely to be single (18.8% vs 11.2%) and less likely to have children (53.3% vs 58.2%). Male-female earnings gaps grew with age and, when accumulated from age 25 to 64 years, were approximately $1.6 million for single physicians, $2.5 million for married physicians without children, and $3.1 million for physicians with children. Gaps in earnings per hour did not vary by family structure, with male physicians earning between 21.4% and 23.9% more per hour than female physicians. The male-female gap in hours worked was 0.6% for single physicians, 7.0% for married physicians without children, and 17.5% for physicians with children.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cross-sectional study of US physicians, marriage and children were associated with a greater earnings penalty for female physicians, primarily due to fewer hours worked relative to men. Addressing the barriers that lead to women working fewer hours could contribute to a reduction in the male-female earnings gap while helping to expand the effective physician workforce.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marriage, Children, and Sex-Based Differences in Physician Hours and Income

et al. 2023

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“…Sexism and racism are commonly experienced in the clinical setting, and that this has a profoundly negative impact on the students' experience and academic performance. (15,(25)(26)(27)(28) In our ndings a particular aspect of the instrumentalization of hierarchy is how race and gender prejudices were used to humiliate students and to enforce and maintain hierarchy, which in the context of the post-1994 South Africa -and the medical school where the study was done -is of particular interest. (18) In an exploration of the history the medical school, Vanessa Noble noted similar themes to our ndings in her research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I know my place’- The hidden curriculum of professional hierarchy in a South African undergraduate medical program: A Qualitative Study

Sons

Gaede

2021

Preprint

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Background The hidden curriculum of professional hierarchy refers a tacitly acquired perception of a power differential between medical students and their clinical teachers. This power gradient is enforced and maintained by means of humiliation and race- and gender prejudices. The consequences of these pedagogical approaches include disillusionment, anxiety, depression and suicide among student populations. Little is known about this phenomenon in the post- colonial African setting.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to explore the hidden curriculum of professional hierarchy as it is perceived by medical students. The objective was to define how it manifests and to describe the mechanism that enforce and maintain it.MethodsAn ethnographic study was conducted at a South African University. Through twelve in- depth interviews and 6 months’ participant observations in the clinical setting an understanding of the students’ experience was explored. NVivo software was used to perform a thematic analysis using an open coding method. The themes were then progressively refocussed as broader themes emerged and a deeper understanding of the hidden curriculum developed.ResultsFrom the interviews and the observations, we found that humiliation of students, racism and sexism was used to enforce the professional hierarchy between clinical teachers and students. Students felt discouraged and demotivated by such encounters.ConclusionsThe hidden curriculum of professional hierarchy plays a significant role in how students understand and find their place in the clinical setting. Humiliation continues to play a role despite institutional policies and guidelines and the transition to a democratic dispensation in 1994 in South Africa. Our findings resonated with the findings of international studies exploring the hidden curriculum. Using a historical perspective of the medical school where the study was conducted, the post-colonial lens offers a useful local analysis of the hidden curriculum in the local context of continued gender-based violence, racial, socio-political and economic inequalities in South Africa. It may allow for a more critical engagement with the students’ experience and hopefully assists in exploring institutional values in more profound ways.

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“…Especially since one of the specialties that interested me the most was trauma surgery -a field that is well known for sexist behavior and gender discrimination. 5 As I progressed, my interests changed, and the world of psychiatry became my passion and main area of interest. However, I never imagined what would happen a few years later.…”

Section: Student Experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The latter is easier to identify since it consists of hostile behaviors based on gender, whereas the former is associated with elements such as patronizing women and gender stereotypes -women are seen as kinder, therefore, they should focus on "softer specialties". 5 We propose the inclusion of topics such as gender-based discrimination in the medical curriculum and to assess its impact not only on health workers but on the community, as well.…”

Section: Possible Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Bias and Stereotypes in Medicine: A Medical Student Experience

Jezzini-Martínez

Cruz

2022

Int J Med Students

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Gender bias is a universal phenomenon that is strongly embedded in human society. Its omnipresence originates consequences that have a lasting structural impact. Despite social, scientific, and cultural changes, gender discrimination remains prevalent in the twenty-first century. In this paper, we describe a situation in which a medical student was discouraged by a professor when she expressed the professional path she intended to pursue in the future just because of her gender. In addition, we discuss possible solutions such as raising awareness, developing educational programs, increasing women representation, and addressing everyone’s needs. It is imperative that we, as a society, educate ourselves in identifying stereotypes and gender-biased situations to eliminate gender discrimination in science and in our systems.

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With the best will in the world: How benevolent sexism shapes medical careers

Abstract: A compliment is not a compliment when it stereotypes, undermining self‐efficacy and performance. To overcome "benevolent sexism" we must recognise and act on unconscious behaviour such as complimenting women's relational skills over their agency and competence.

Cited by 7 publications

References 25 publications

Marriage, Children, and Sex-Based Differences in Physician Hours and Income

Marriage, Children, and Sex-Based Differences in Physician Hours and Income

‘I know my place’- The hidden curriculum of professional hierarchy in a South African undergraduate medical program: A Qualitative Study

Gender Bias and Stereotypes in Medicine: A Medical Student Experience

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