by Dounya Farhoud
Much has been written in the last decades about women in scientific careers. However, the literature is ambivalent when it comes to bridging the gender gap in medicine. Following a descriptive qualitative study conducted by the psychology department at Princeton University, “Women are underrepresented in fields where success is believed to require brilliance,” such as engineering, medicine, and mathematics. Alas, the marginalization and lack of visibility targeted toward women’s academic successes touch every field. Such underrepresentation is, at its core, systematic, rooting back to cultural and gender socialization that affect career decision-making and ultimately the integration of women in such fields.
Efficient decision-making represents an essential tool in helping people navigate their way through the path of career choosing. And choosing a career represents one of the most challenging decisions one can undergo (Rothwell, 2002) since it defines the person as an individual, establishes their role in the community, and determines their academic and personal satisfaction. In hopes of selecting the road that fits them most, teenagers must explore their aspirations and limits while a multitude of intertwined factors comes into play such as interest, perception of the career, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and gender (Kooli, 2018). People’s perceptions of different careers are shaped by various factors, including cultural values, personal experiences, social norms, and media representations. Consequently, the unavoidable gender gap undoubtedly influences teenagers in their occupational choice, and this is reflected in the declining interest of women in medicine, for example. In 2012, drastic retention of STEM career interest from 15.7% to 12.7%, was noted among female high school students. Interestingly enough, the statistics remained the same with their male counterparts at 39.9% (Sadler, 2017). This discrepancy illustrates how some careers come to be known as “male-dominated fields.”
This description stems from implicit (or explicit in some cases) sexism and misogyny. One way in which women are reprimanded based on their gender is by the so-called criticism and labeling of women as “emotional” or “provocative” based on their reactions, looks, and mannerisms. A woman’s assertive and confident leadership skills can easily come off as rude, unlikable, and even narcissistic. The risk of being in a vexing and unfair workplace due to sexism is not the sole reason women opt out of these “male-dominated” STEM career paths. In a gendered conservative milieu, a woman’s professional and economic positions are limited due to societal and familial pressures (Wahba, 2018). For instance, she would be more encouraged by her entourage and parents to found a family and devote her time to her husband and children. While specialty choice, practice patterns, and regions all contribute to different remuneration, the impact of implicit biases, such as gender, intensifies discrepancies between male and female compensation. The gender pay gap in medicine is a significant issue that persists across various specialties, regions, and fields. Studies consistently indicate that female physicians, on average, earn less than their male counterparts (an average of 20-30%). The implicit yet constant steering of women away from medicine as a career eventually leads to the medical underrepresentation of women. The lack of visibility accorded to women and the marginalization of their achievements play an important role in the decision-making process of a potential future female-physician. Hence, one can say that gender, along with a multitude of factors, impacts a girl’s perceived self in medicine and other male-dominated fields.
This perception of the self can be further examined through the lens of the social-cognitive feminist theoretical framework that espouses that societal expectations and traditional gender norms jeopardize the participation of girls in competitive and challenging career orientations. In hopes of mending and closing the gender gap, diverse projects came to light, such as the “Association of Women Surgeons & their Women in Surgery Interest Group affiliations” (AWS-WSIG). This association aims to empower, encourage, and support women throughout their path to becoming a surgeon. They offer a variety of activities, such as webinars, workshops, and daily informative posts on their platform. Their initiative gives credit and recognition to the overlooked women in surgery, highlights role models in surgery, and contributes to the members’ education with the information provided. Nevertheless, this project has limitations, such as a mandatory membership fee that might not be affordable to the public and a targeted female population who is already enrolled in a medical program and solely interested in surgery.
Considering the aforementioned factors that impact a girl’s decision to pursue a career in medicine, and the limitations of the AWS, I decided to hold a primary guidance session. This online session aims at providing young high school girls with guidance, orientation, and mentorship to pursue a career in medicine. This free-of-charge session included a brief introduction about myself, my educational & career path, along with the obstacles I faced. I also advanced on the discrepancies and challenges that women will eventually face. I presented a variety of medical specialties and shared with the attendees free of charge resources that will help them in their journeys, such as websites offering free courses, clinical volunteering opportunities, and virtual clinical shadowing experiences. Alternative career paths were also discussed. Finally, the attendees briefed me about their motivation, eagerness, concerns, and aspirations in pursuing a career in medicine. Considering some schools do not provide career counseling services, I chose to hold this mentorship session. Mentoring, especially in medicine, enhances the development of trainers and trainees (McKenna, 2011). Indeed, equipping young high school girls with information, resources, and insight can empower and guide them toward accomplishing their aspirations. It is pertinent to highlight that mentoring and guidance are key, they are not a panacea for the rooted systemic issues that contribute to the gender gap in medicine. It should be emphasized that structural inequalities constitute constraints on what can be achieved; thus, addressing them and implementing broader systemic changes are crucial to fulfill gender equity in medicine.
References
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McKenna, A. M., & Straus, S. E. (2011). Charting a professional course: A review of mentorship in medicine. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 8(2), 109–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2010.07.005
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Sadler, P. M., Sonnert, G., Hazari, Z., & Tai, R. (2012). Stability and volatility of stem career interest in high school: A gender study. Science Education, 96(3), 411–427. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21007
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