Skip to main content

Women in the Medical Profession: International Trends

  • Chapter
  • 683 Accesses

Abstract

The position of women doctors has continued to draw the attention of feminists, women’s health advocates and policy-makers as the number of women doctors has increased markedly since the 1970s in most western societies. Despite the remarkable inroads made by women doctors the persistence of gender segregation in the practice of medicine and the existence of a glass ceiling in the careers of women doctors have become signs of the persistence of gender inequality in healthcare and of barriers to the advance of women’s health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Key reading

  • Boulis, A. K. and J. A. Jacobs (2008) The Changing Face of Medicine: Women Doctors and the Evolution of Health Care in America (Ithaca: Cornell University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilminster S., J. Downes, B. Gough, D. Murdoch-Eaton and T. Roberts (2007) ‘Women in Medicine — Is there a Problem? A Literature Review of the Changing Gender Composition, Structures and Occupational Cultures in Medicine’, Medical Education, 41 (1), 39–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riska, E. (2001) Medical Careers and Feminist Agendas: American, Scandinavian and Russian Women Physicians (New York: Aldine de Gruyter).

    Google Scholar 

References

  • Acker, J. (2006) ‘Inequality Regimes: Gender, Class, and Race in Organizations,’ Gender and Society, 20 (4), 441–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • AMA — American Medical Association (2009) Physician Characteristics in the US, 2009 edition (Chicago: AMA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Barr, D. A. (1995) ‘The Professional Structure of Soviet Medical Care: The Relationship between Personal Characteristics, Medical Education and Occupational Setting for Estonian Physicians,’ American Journal of Public Health, 85 (3), 373–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beagan, B.L. (2000) ‘Neutralizing Differences: Producing Neutral Doctors for (Almost) Neutral Patients’, Social Science & Medicine, 51 (8), 1253–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, H. S., B. Geer, E. C. Hughes and A. L. Strauss (1961) Boys in White: Student Culture in Medical School (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bickel, J. (2001) ‘Gender Equity in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Status Report’, Journal of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Medicine, 10 (3), 261–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertakis, K. D. and R. Azari (2007) ‘Patient Gender and Physician Practice Style’, Journal of Women’s Health, 16 (6), 859–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, S. W. (2002) The Word as Scalpel: A History of Medical Sociology (New York: Oxford University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Boston Women’s Health Collective (1973) Our Bodies, Ourselves: A Book by and for Women (New York: Simon and Schuster).

    Google Scholar 

  • Boulis, A. K. and J. A. Jacobs (2008) The Changing Face of Medicine: Women Doctors and the Evolution of Health Care in America (Ithaca: Cornell University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourgeault, I. L. (2005) ‘Rationalization of Health Care and Female Professional Projects: Reconceptualizing the Role of Medicine, the State and Health Care Institutions from a Gendered Perspective’, Knowledge, Work and Society, 3 (1), 25–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Britton, D. M. (2000) ‘The Epistemology of the Gendered Organization’, Gender and Society, 14 (3), 418–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carnes, M., C. Morrissey and S. E. Geller (2008) ‘Women’s Health and Women’s Leadership in Academic Medicine: Hitting the Same Glass Ceiling’, Journal of Women’s Health, 17 (9), 1453–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, C. (1996) ‘The Sociology of Professions and the Profession of Gender’, Sociology, 30 (4), 661–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenreich, B. and D. English (1978) For Her Own Good: 150 Years of Experts’ Advice to Women (New York: Anchor Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Elling, R. (2007) ‘Reflections on the Health Social Sciences — Then and Now’, International Journal of Health Services, 37 (4), 601–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elston, M. A. (2009) Women and Medicine: The Future (London: Royal College of Physicians).

    Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, S. L., K. E. Adams, M. Nichols and J. Cain (2004) ‘The Impact of Perceived Gender Bias on Obstetrics and Gynecology Skills Acquisition by Third-Year Medical Students’, Academic Medicine, 79 (4), 326–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EMA — Estonian Medical Association (2009) Unpublished data, information provided by Katrin Rehemaa via e-mail on 9 January 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Field, M. (1991) ‘The Hybrid Profession: Soviet Medicine’, in A. Jones (ed.), Professions and the State: Expertise and Autonomy in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (Philadelphia: Temple University Press), 43–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • FMA — Finnish Medical Association (FMA) (2009) Statistics on Physicians 2009, at: www.laakariliitto.fi/tilastot/laakaritilastot/erikoislaakarit.html, accessed 30 June 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harden, J. (2001) ‘“Mother Russia” at Work: Gender Divisions in the Medical Profession’, The European Journal of Women’s Studies, 8 (2), 181–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammarström, A. (2003) ‘The Integration of Gender in Medical Research and Education: Obstacles and Possibilities from a Nordic Perspective’, Women and Health, 37 (4), 121–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heru, A. M. (2005) ‘Pink-collar Medicine: Women and the Future of Medicine’, Gender Issues, 22 (1), 20–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henrich, J. B. and C. M. Viscoli (2006) ‘What Do Medical Schools Teach about Women’s Health and Gender Differences?’, Academic Medicine, 81 (5), 476–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanter, R. M. (1977) Men and Women of the Corporation (New York: Basic Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilminster S., J. Downes, B. Gough, D. Murdoch-Eaton and T. Roberts (2007) ‘Women in Medicine — Is There a Problem? A Literature Review of the Changing Gender Composition, Structures and Occupational Cultures in Medicine’, Medical Education, 41 (1), 39–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorber, J. (1984) Women Physicians (London: Tavistock).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, A. L. and P. M. Tikka (2008) ‘Family-friendly Policies and Gender Bias in Academia’, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 30 (4), 363–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merton, R. K., G. G. Reader and P. L. Kendall (eds) (1957) The Student-Physician: Introductory Studies in the Sociology of Medical Education (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • MHRL — Ministry of Health of Republic of Lithuania (2008) Data of Physician License Registry (2007–2008) (Vilnius: Ministry of Health).

    Google Scholar 

  • McKinlay, J. B. and L. D. Marceau (2008) ‘When There Is No Doctor: Reasons for the Disappearance of Primary Care Physicians in the US During the Early 21st Century’, Social Science & Medicine, 67 (10), 1481–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • More, E. S. (1999) Restoring the Balance: Women Physicians in the Profession of Medicine, 1850–1995 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordic Medical Associations (2006) Physicians in the Nordic Countries 2006, at: www.legeforeningen.no.asset/32194/1/32194_1.pdf, accessed 24 June 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oakley, A. (1984) The Captured Womb (Oxford: Blackwell).

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD Health Data (2009) Statistics and Indicators, version December 2008, at: www.ecosante.org/affmultiphp?base=OECDE&valeur=&langh=Eng&langs=EN, accessed 24 June 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. (1951) The Social System (New York: Free Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Riska, E. (2001a) Medical Careers and Feminist Agendas: American, Scandinavian and Russian Women Physicians (New York: Aldine de Gruyter).

    Google Scholar 

  • Riska, E. (2001b) ‘Towards Gender Balance: But Will Women Physicians Have an Impact on Medicine?’, Social Science & Medicine, 52 (2), 179–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riska, E. (2008) ‘The Feminization Thesis: Discourses on Gender and Medicine’, NORA, 16 (1), 3–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riska, E. and A. Novelskaite (2008) ‘Gendered Careers in Post-Soviet Society: Views on Professional Qualifications in Surgery and Pediatrics’, Gender Issues, 25 (4), 229–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivkin-Fish, M. (2005) Women’s Health in Post-Soviet Russia: The Politics of Intervention (Bloomington: Indiana University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Roter, D. L. and J. A. Hall (2004) ‘Physician Gender and Patient-centered Communication: A Critical Review of Empirical Research’, Annual Review of Public Health, 25, 497–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • RCP — Royal College of Physicians (2009) Women and Medicine: The Future (Summary of Findings from Royal College of Physicians Research) (Suffolk: Lavenham Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • SMA — Swedish Medical Association (2009) Läkarfakta 2009 (Statistics on Physicians), at: www.lakarforbundet.se, accessed 24 June 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verdonk, P., L. J. L. Mans and T. L. M. Lagro-Janssen (2006) ‘How Is Gender Integrated in Curricula of Dutch Medical Schools? A Quick Scan on Gender Issues as an Instrument for Change’, Gender and Education, 18 (4), 399–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verdonk, P., Y. W. M. Benschop, H. C. J. de Haes and T. L. M. Lagro-Janssen (2008) ‘From Gender Bias to Gender Awareness in Medical Education’, Advances in Health Sciences Education, 14 (1), 135–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witz, A. (1992) Professions and Patriarchy (London: Routledge).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wrede, S. (2008) ‘Educating Generalists: The Flexibilisation of Finnish Auxiliary Nursing and the Dilemma of Professional Identity’, in E. Kuhlmann and M. Saks (eds), Rethinking Professional Governance: International Directions in Healthcare (Bristol: Policy Press), 127–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zetka, J. R. (2008a) ‘Radical Logics and Their Carriers in Medicine: The Case of Psychopathology and American Obstetricians and Gynecologists’, Social Problems, 55 (1), 95–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zetka, J. R. (2008b) ‘The Making of the “Women’s Physician” in American Obstetrics and Gynecology: Re-forging an Occupational Identity and a Division of Labor’, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 49 (3), 335–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2010 Elianne Riska

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Riska, E. (2010). Women in the Medical Profession: International Trends. In: Kuhlmann, E., Annandale, E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Gender and Healthcare. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230290334_24

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics