Female participation or “feminization” of medicine

SummaryMore and more women chose medicine as their profession. Female students and graduates outnumber their male colleagues in Austria and the EU. However, the career paths of men and women differ after a  certain point, and more and more female talent is lost along the career stages. Women hold only 30% of professor positions at state medical universities in Austria and only 11.9% of all chief physicians are female. Motherhood and related absence is the main career obstacle, but gender bias and mis sing role models are also factors hindering women to thrive. Improved working conditions would be beneficial for all members of the medical profession. Future generations (Generation Y, Generation Z) will likely expedite changes toward a better work-life balance and claim the right to find fulfil lment besides work. Compatibility of family and work and the chance to individualize career paths could be important factors for employers to find and bind their employees. Additionally, (gender) diverse teams improve the group process and collective intelligence. Therefore, patient care and innovat ion can only benefit from a diverse medical workforce.
Source: Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research