Encouraging one's daughter to pursue a career in medicine is no longer an unusual idea restricted to feminist leaders. In fact, Americans are now more likely to report that they feel comfortable recommending a career in medicine for a young woman than for a young man. In 1950 more than one quarter of those sampled reported that they would recommend a career in medicine for a young man, but only 2 percent would do so for a young woman. The question was not asked again about young women until 1985. By this time the number of respondents who volunteered medicine as a career for young men had declined to fewer than 10 percent, but the level of support for young women physicians had grown to nearly the same level. A career in medicine is now the top recommendation for young women, surpassing the most prominent alternatives like nursing, teaching, computers, and business by as wide margin.
On the surface, the outlook is promising for women in healthcare. However there is much larger existence of sexism even after being such an influential and knowledgeable industry with doctors working for the betterment of nation’s health. Women and men are enrolling in medical school at similar rates and women hold a wide range of positions in the healthcare industry. They’re inspiring a new generation of women in a field once thought to be the domain of men. However, women are still being held back from attaining positions of influence in the medical world. They also regularly contend with sexism and discrimination before hitting the proverbial glass ceiling.
Over recent years, there has been increasing discussion of the ‘feminization’ of the US medical workforce, with women now forming the majority of medical students and over half of the general practitioner workforce. In this paper, the history of women in medicine is reviewed, followed by analysis of recent demographic trends and discussion of the potential consequences of the changing gender composition of the medical workforce.
Historical and Contemporary aspects.
Women's role in medicine and healing is evident throughout history, from the ancient world through to the present day, albeit in different forms and with various associated conflicts along the way. Women were not, however, allowed entry into US medical schools until the late nineteenth century. As a result, there was historically a class and gender divide in treatment. Those who could afford the care of university-trained medical practitioners were treated by men, while others sought help from female healers, often termed ‘wise women’ or even ‘witches’
Scientific discovery and new laboratory techniques during the 19th century brought about the era of ‘modern medicine’ which was also characterized by professionalization, and continued masculinization, as women were excluded from undertaking the university medical training that was required to practice.
Women Doctors Are Paid $20,000 Less Than Male Doctors
Among all physicians, females earn an average of 74 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to a new report from Docility, a social network for healthcare professionals. That translates to female physicians earning roughly $91,000 less a year than their male counterparts. Among all full-time workers in the U.S., women earned an average of around 82 cents for every dollar men made in 2016, according to the Labor Department. Even when broken down by medical specialty, there is no area where women earn as much as men. The biggest pay gaps exist in vascular surgery, occupational medicine and pediatric endocrinology. The wage gap can put women at a disadvantage in their long-term earnings potential and when it comes to paying off the massive loans that tend to accompany medical school. Where physicians live also impacts their earnings. Generally speaking, doctors in more rural and lower-cost cities tend to be better paid than those practicing in higher-cost cities like San Francisco or New York. The pay gap between male and female physicians was the highest in Charlotte and Durham, North Carolina, where women earned 33% and 31% less, respectively. The pay gap was the smallest in Sacramento, where female doctors earned an average of 19% less than their male counterparts. Neurosurgery is the highest-compensated specialty with an average annual pay of $620,000. The pay gap in this field was among the smallest at 15%. But that still translates to female neurosurgeons making $92,917 a year less, on average, the report found. The report was based on 36,000 responses from full-time, licensed U.S. physicians who practice at least 40 hours a week. The data that shows someone is getting paid less than what their otherwise equivalent colleague is getting paid, that should be an automatic signal that the salary should be reviewed.
Public policies on equal pay for Doctors in USA.
Since 1963, the Equal Pay Act has stated that men and women doing the same work have to be paid equally. More recently, the Obama administration has announced an executive action that will require companies with 100 employees or more to report pay data broken down by gender. The problem with legislating equal pay is that it puts the onus on female employees to bring lawsuits showing that they have been discriminated against. The California Fair Pay Act has now added additional protection, saying that women need not have the same title in order to have a claim of doing equal work and protecting them from retribution if they ask about the fairness of their pay. There are two ways to go about fixing this huge part of the gender wage gap. The first is for companies or the government to implement policies that enable women to be both moms and workers, such as paid family leave and supported childcare. But there’s also a cultural shift that needs to happen: The assumption that mothers are not as good at their jobs, not deserving of promotions, or won’t work as hard is discrimination. Employers need to do their part in seeing women who are mothers as valued as employees.
Conclusion
The pay gap between men and women is largest in occupations where there is little flexibility for choosing when or where to work. It’s especially bad in higher-paying professions such as law, business, and medicine. Surgical subspecialties are at the peak of the medical pyramid, and men dominate these positions while women gravitate toward other areas. To overcome the gender disparity, women will have to break out of the so-called “pipeline effect” that has funneled them away from upper academia and the highest-paid specialties. If female medical students want to close the pay gap, they must compete with male students for surgical residencies. Research suggests that having a higher proportion of women on the surgical faculty can play a big part in making this happen. The lack of PCPs nationwide and the increased female representation in this field — also presents women physicians with an opportunity to advocate for higher wages. Practitioners might also consider publishing their salaries. A study in the American Sociological Review found that transparency raises wages by giving employees legitimate figures to work with in salary discussions. Establishing policies that allow women to remain in the workforce (e.g., child care and paid parental leave) can also help a great deal.
References
§ Book: The Changing Face of Medicine by Ann K. Boulis, Jerry A. Jacobs.
§ US Medical Bulletin, Volume 11, June 2015.
§ Barton Associates July, 2016
§ www.money.cnn.com - Kathryn Vasel April, 2017.
§ www.theatlantic.com - Bourre Lam, March 2016
