Historically, women have been outnumbered by men in nearly every profession and the medical field is no exception. While the number of female doctors in today's workforce has drastically decreased over the past two years, the number of women in programs that lead to a doctorate of medicine has steadily increased. Let's examine some of the factors at play.
Covid 19 And Its Impact On Women
Despite the steady increase in female physicians over the past 15 years in particular, over the past two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on one particular sector of the medical workforce: mothers. In January of last year, nearly 10 million mothers were not actively working. It isn't clear how many of these mothers are also physicians but female physicians account for 36% of the current workforce, so it's safe to say there's a fair number of them.
According to a survey conducted for the Understanding Coronavirus in America study, 33% of employed mothers shouldered the brunt of childcare responsibilities throughout the pandemic, as opposed to 7% of men filling that role. Which means that when schools or daycares shut down, more women than men are forced to find more suitable means to do their jobs or abandon their careers altogether. The upside to this is that more companies are offering tele-health services. While this doesn't eradicate the childcare dilemma, it does offer a new way for mothers to continue working as physicians while still managing their domestic duties.
This factor has also impacted the number of women attending physician programs at medical colleges. The disparity isn't as significant because, generally speaking, women who are currently pursuing doctorate programs in medicine are not yet mothers. For those who are, however, the number of publications and research led by female students in medicine dropped drastically throughout the pandemic due to an increase in domestic demands faced by women across the board.
Turnover Is High
Not accounting for the current pandemic, there are many factors that influence turnover rates for female doctors. Income disparity, gender bias, and burnout tend to impact women more significantly than men. For burnout in particular, which is described as a triad including "emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism, and feelings of diminished personal efficacy" as they pertain to the work environment, the rate is estimated to be 50% among the physician population in general.
Another factor impacting turnover is retirement. In 2020, 45% of current practicing physicians were age 55 or older and nearing retirement. The pandemic also led many physicians to take an unplanned early retirement. This paints a pretty optimistic picture for those seeking employment but companies will have to get creative.
While it isn't clear what percentage of these physicians are women, it does mean that we may be facing a shortage and that bodes well for the women who are currently pursuing their medical degree. As these doctors retire, there will be an influx of available job opportunities and since there's a higher number of women becoming physicians, it makes sense to assume more women will enter the workforce in the next few years.
Inequality And Disparity
Women in the US are historically paid less than their male counterparts. While this gap is closing, female physicians earn roughly $.75 per every $1.00 earned by their male counterparts. Earnings for male physicians over the span of a 40-year career are estimated to be roughly $8.3 million dollars, whereas women physicians will earn $6 million comparatively. Over the course of one's career, that's a significant disparity.
Income disparity is only one aspect of inequality. Female physicians still account for a lower number of supervisors or directors among their fellow physicians and are often overlooked for promotions. This statistic has shown trends in the right direction over the past decade, however.
Concluding Thoughts
While there are many factors to consider when investigating trends for female physicians, one thing is clear: overall, the situation is improving. Companies are experiencing high rates of turnover due to retirement and the pandemic, the health industry overall has seen a rise in telemedicine opportunities, and more women than ever are enrolled as degree seeking candidates in doctorate of medicine programs.
With all of these factors in play, one can expect that the number of female physicians will continue to increase and trends depict that disparity is becoming less and less. The future looks bright for women in medicine and it appears there are more positive impacts than negative. If women continue to stay the course, there's no telling just how quickly they'll come out on top.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of jobsnhire.com
