Women's Participation in the Medical Profession: Insights from Experiences in Japan, Scandinavia, Russia, and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Although much literature has focused on the status of female physicians in the United States, limited Englishlanguage studies have examined the role of women in the medical profession elsewhere in the world. This article synthesizes evidence regarding the status of female physicians in three purposively selected regions outside the United States: Japan, Scandinavia, and Russia and Eastern Europe. These three regions markedly differ in the proportion of female physicians in the workforce, overall status of the medical profession, cultural views of gender roles, and workforce policies. Through a review of studies and articles published between 1992 and 2012 examining women's representation, status measures such as salary and leadership positions, and experiences of female physicians, the authors discuss potential relationships between the representation of female physicians, their status in medicine, and the overall status of the profession. The findings suggest that even when women constitute a high proportion of the physician workforce, they may continue to be underrepresented in positions of leadership and prestige. Evolving workforce policies, environments, and cultural views of gender roles appear to play a critical role in mediating the relationship between women's participation in the medical profession and their ability to rise to positions of influence within it. These insights are informative for the ongoing debates over the impact of the demographic shifts in the composition of the medical workforce in the United States.

Trends and comparison of female first authorship in high impact medical journals: observational study (1994-2014)

“…Approximately equal numbers of women and men enter and graduate from medical school in the United States and United Kingdom. 1 2 In northern and eastern European countries such as Russia, Finland, Hungary, and Serbia, women account for more than 50% of the active physicians 3 ; in the United Kingdom and United States, they represent 47% and 33% respectively. 4 5 Even in Japan, the nation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development with the lowest percentage of female physicians, representation doubled between 1986 and 2012.…”

Gender and physician specialization and practice settings in Ecuador: a qualitative study

“…Another theme identified across various countries is that despite the increasing proportion of women in medicine, their careers progress much more slowly than their male colleagues (e.g., in gaining permanent positions, significant representation in hierarchical medical positions, etc.) [13, 22–24]. A related but slightly different perspective on this theme comes from a study in Scotland, which found that women primary care providers tend to work fewer hours and are less likely to engage in teaching and administrative duties than their male colleagues, suggesting important implications for countries’ physician workforces [25].…”

Habilitations as a bottleneck? A retrospective analysis of gender differences at the Medical University of Vienna

“…Medicine is an especially relevant discipline for researching the problem, as the field remains characterised by both horizontal and vertical discrimination [6][7][8] and because it is considered a traditionally "masculine" institution [9] despite the increase in female medicine students around the world [10,11]. Furthermore, for a long time, a habilitation was considered proof of scientific qualification in lieu of a doctorate, which is awarded to all graduates of medical studies.…”