While it might be common in the nursing industry, women physicians haven’t always been as prominent in the medical field. Medicine has traditionally been a male-driven field. Sure, the majority of nurses in our country have been women since the early turn of the century, but we never saw the same representation of ladies in the physician field. However, the demographics are changing and more women than ever are gracing med schools, hospitals, facilities, clinics, and other practices across the country. Women actually are making nearly 50% of medical school populations according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
“Women are leaders everywhere you look, from a CEO to a housewife that holds together a home. Our country was built by women who stand alone.” -Denise Clark
Women Physicians in the Industry
Despite the growing levels of female representation that continue to fill our nation’s healthcare system; there’s one place where they are lagging behind. Apparently despite a demographic shift, less than 1/5th of the deans of medical schools, chairs of departments, division chiefs, and CEOs of hospitals in the US. In other words, less than 20% of women held some sort of leadership title in the very top of the spectrum. Women physicians and women in healthcare leadership roles continue to remain stagnant.
Women are still very low on the number of practitioners that have been seen in more leadership-centric roles. Medscape’s Women as Physician Leaders Report showed that of the 3,285 female physicians of various specialties that surveyed (1764 reported being in leadership roles, 1521 did not report being in a leadership role.)
A Breakdown of Female Physician Leader Job Titles
The highest percentage of women physicians leadership roles was medical directors. According to the American College of Physician Executives and Cejka Search, their 2008 survey reported that approximately 40% of physician executives were in the title medical director. Despite making up almost 80% of the healthcare industry, there are currently no women CEOs in fortune 500 healthcare companies. Only 22.1% of their board members are women, about the same level as the Fortune 500 overall (20.2%). As evidence of the sluggish improvement, in 2015, 21.0% of Fortune 500 healthcare board members were women.
However, despite the modern increase in a number of females actually attending medical school, far less are actually working in their academic medical faculties. The Association of American Medical Colleges reported in 2014 that women only make up 15% of permanent department chair positions. They also only make up 16% of dean positions as well.
The Important of Overall Leadership in Medical Careers
The survey found that a vast majority of the women holding leadership roles attributed their success to excelling at their job (72%.) Non-leaders felt that building alliances, gaining support from peers, and inspiration from female physician role models were ways they might be able to attain a future leadership title. Therefore, we can see that women view women above them as positive influences. While it’s also nice to have male role-models, having someone of the same sex is crucial.
Challenges For Finding Leadership Positions
For women who are not currently in physician leadership roles, they have a seemingly different viewpoint on some of the reasons for limitations they might be experiencing some sort of gender bias in the workplace or political bickering. For the females that currently serve in roles of leadership, they are less likely to feel that their gender help them back professionally. Not having enough time to get things done was the main concern for leaders.
What Can We Do?
What can we do to increase the number of women physicians? Well, there are a few things that those in the health industry can do to ensure that the strong women in the industry have the opportunity to rise to the top.
Add Career Development Opportunities
One way to ensure that the number of women physicians grows is to provide various career development opportunities for young women. Career development opportunities include leadership training, career coaching, formal mentorship/sponsorship programs, and time/funding to attend industry conferences.
Create a Mentor Program
One of the biggest issues that women in the industry will face is simply not having any women mentors. These strong female leaders need to be seen. This is why it’s imperative that women are in clear line of sight. They should be represented on stage at conferences, interviewed for news articles, and given positions to lead meetings at their organizations. Creating a mentorship program will ensure that women in the industry have someone to turn to for guidance and advice. It will also bring a sense of camaraderie as women within the industry interact with one and other.
Women physicians will always play a crucial role in the healthcare field. However, we need to ensure that they have all the tools are resources to become powerful leaders within the industry. If you’ve experienced issues as a woman in the field, feel free to share your story below! If you’re looking for a career in health, feel free to check out the thousands of jobs we have to offer. Your assignment is waiting!
