The current status of gender equity in medicine in Korea: an online survey about perceived gender discrimination
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(2020) 18:78
RESEARCH
Open Access
The current status of gender equity in medicine in Korea: an online survey about perceived gender discrimination Hyun-Young Shin1,2,3*
and Hang Aie Lee2
Abstract Background: Although the number of women doctors has increased in South Korea, and efforts to improve gender awareness have gained importance in recent years, the issue of gender equity in the medical field has not been fully evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the current status of gender equity in the medical profession in Korea. Methods: An online survey on perceived gender discrimination was conducted for 2 months, with both men and women doctors participating. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 1170 doctors responded to the survey (9.2% response rate). The survey found that 47.3% of the women respondents and 18.2% of the men had experienced gender discrimination in the resident selection process (P < 0.05), 17.2% of the women and 8.7% of the men had experienced discrimination during the fellowship application process (P < 0.05), and 36.2% of the women and 8.0% of the men had experienced discrimination during the professorship application process (P < 0.05). Both men and women cited the issue of childbirth and parenting as the number one cause of gender discrimination against women doctors. Conclusions: This study revealed the presence of perceived gender discrimination in the Korean medical society. To address discrimination, a basic approach is necessary to change the working environment so that it is flexible for women doctors, and to change the current culture where the burden of family care, including pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare, is the primary responsibility of women. Keywords: Equity, Doctor, Gender discrimination, Korea, Medical profession, Women
Background The proportion of women doctors in Korea has increased from 12.4% in 1980 to 25.4% in 2017. It is expected to continue rising with the increase in women medical students (the proportion of women medical students was 36.0% in 2014) [1]. However, the conservative medical society proves to be a difficult environment for women doctors who face challenges when competing * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Family Medicine, Myongji Hospital, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Gyeonggi-do 10475, Republic of Korea 2 Korean Medical Women’s Association, Seoul, Republic of Korea Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
with their men counterparts and in being evaluated fairly. In a survey on physicians’ training and working environment conducted by the Korean Medical Association and Medical Policy Research Institute in 2017, 16.6% of women doctors and 16.0% of men doctors said there was unfairness in the selection process for the residency program [2]. The major reasons for this bias were external factors such as gender, age, and the title of the graduate school, which interfered with the resident selection process (56.8%) [2]. In a survey
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