Newman, P.

Sealy, R.

City Research Online

Newman, P. & Sealy, R. (2013). Breaking down barriers for women doctors. Health Service Journal, City Research OnlineOriginal citation: Newman, P. & Sealy, R. (2013). Breaking down barriers for women doctors. Health Service Journal, Permanent City Research Online URL: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/4758/ Copyright & reuseCity University London has developed City Research Online so that its users may access the research outputs of City University London's staff. Copyright © and Moral Rights for this paper are retained by the individual author(s) and/ or other copyright holders.  All material in City Research Online is checked for eligibility for copyright before being made available in the live archive. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to from other web pages. Versions of researchThe version in City Research Online may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check the Permanent City Research Online URL above for the status of the paper.EnquiriesIf you have any enquiries about any aspect of City Research Online, or if you wish to make contact with the author(s) of this paper, please email the team at publications@city.ac.uk.Women doctors: an overlooked resource Dr Penny Newman, GP, NHS Improving Quality, Dr Ruth Sealy, Deputy Director International Centre for Women Leaders, Cranfield School of Management  Women have always been central in providing medical care, whether through home remedies, nursing, or acting as herbalists.1 However, their long exclusion from formal education means the medical profession has been male-dominated for much of its history.  While women no longer struggle to gain entry to medicine, it can still be a struggle to progress. There remains significant under-representation of women doctors in senior leadership or board-equivalent roles 2;  a pay gap between female and male doctors3; vertical segregation where men and women are initially recruited at a similar occupational level but then experience a disparity in progression; and horizontal segmentation because women predominate in certain specialties4.   Although women now account for up to 69 per cent of entrants to some medical schools5, only 32 per cent of consultants are female, with few in surgery (11 per cent) compared to paediatrics (49 per cent) (table 1). And while women make up approximately 64 per cent of GP registrars, only 49 per cent of all GPs and 40 per cent of GP partners are female (table 2). Meanwhile women make up most of the growing number of salaried GPs (68%)– a lower status role 6. On the new clinical commissioning groups, only around 20 per cent of medical leaders are women7.   Table 1.  HCHS Medical staff all grades (head count)0100002000030000400005000060000700002000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010YearNumberFemaleMale Source: Source NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care. General and Medical Services England 2000-2010 March 21 2012  Table 2.  05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000Number (headcount)2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010Year Trend in numbers of GPs by genderTotal Female GPsTotal Male GPs Source: Source NHS Information Centre General and Medical Services England 2000-2010  Why the block? Women can experience different barriers at different stages in their medical careers. These include conflict between work and family life, part time hours, lack of role models and little time for leadership on top of clinical and personal commitments.  Individual and organisational mindsets can also contribute, such as lower confidence and personal aspiration, the perception of a traditional male cultural environment and/or ͞ďoys͛ Đluď͟, organisational bias in making appointments and a lack of networking opportunities8.  An indicator of bias is the debate that women doctors are costly to the NHS, requiring more training places as many work part time9. Yet a recent government report on female progression at work in other sectors made clear that flexible working should apply to all equally.   The benefits of giving female doctors equal opportunities to progress are significant:   As leaders, women outperform men on all NHS Leadership Academy 360 feedback criteria10.  Research suggests women doctors make safer decisions; they are less likely to be referred to the National Clinical Assessment Service and receive fewer complaints through the GMC compared to male colleagues.   More visible female role models will increase the talent pool available in specialties such as surgery where a peƌĐeiǀed laĐk of ͞fit͟ ǁith ĐuƌƌeŶt leadeƌs iŵpaĐts oŶ women doĐtoƌs͛ motivation to join and remain in the specialty11.   Research has shown a ͞ĐƌitiĐal ŵass͟ of three or more women in top teams is needed to bring about the type of cultural change the NHS is being asked to make12   Diverse top teams benefit from improved decision making, innovation and creativity, better governance and less ͞gƌoup thiŶk͟13  All organisations are required to comply with the 2010 UK Equality Act which requires equal access to employment regardless of gender.  Since similar obstacles may be faced by other groups, why do women doctors justify special attention? Because their large and growing numbers, the high cost of their medical training and need to populate 24/7 rotas all mean that their loss from the profession could have a disproportionate impact on culture, resources and patients.  Numerous national reports have offered recommendations for improving opportunities for women doctors141516, but no action has ensued. Where the NHS has floundered, the corporate sector has made significant progress. The Davies Report, published in 2011, required corporate boards to achieve 25 per cent female representation by 2015 and stated that the government would consider all measures if the target was not met17. Since its publication, the proportion of women appointed to boards of FTSE 100 companies has increased from 12.8 per cent to 17.5 per cent. This increase equals the one made over the course of the entire previous decade.  The report͛s iŵpaĐt has demonstrated what is needed to create an environment of change: actions focused on the system as well as on women themselves, clear messages and data, continual measurement, targeted resources and the possibility of sanctions for failing organisations. This ĐaŶŶot ďe seeŶ as ͚a ǁoŵaŶ͛s issue͛. High pƌofile suppoƌt is ƌeƋuiƌed from all parts of the NHS, and from both men and women.  What would the first women to practise medicine think of their counterparts ability to progress a century later? No shrinking violets, they would have had the courage to stand and say in no uncertain terms that not only is gender inequality unfair, but patients and the NHS deserve the very best senior doctors and leaders. Our staff is our most valuable and expensive asset. If high quality patient care, clinical leadership and culture change is important, women doctors must not be overlooked.                                                    1 http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/practisingmedicine/women.aspx 2 The future of neurosurgery; a white paper on the recruitment and retention of women in neurosurgery WINS white paper committee Journal Neurosurgery 2008;109;387-385 3 Male doctors earn £15,000 a year more than women, study reveals, Denis Campbell, health correspondent The Guardian, 10 November 2009 4 Dumelow C, Littlejohns P, Griffiths S. Relation between a career and family life for English hospital consultants: qualitative, semi structured interview study. BMJ 2000 May 27;320(7247):1437-40. 5 Mathers J, Sitch A, Marsh JL, Parry J Widening access to medical education for under-represented socioeconomic groups population based cross sectiponal analysis 2002-6 BMJ 2011;342:d918 (Published 22 February 2011)  6 Source NHS Information Centre General and Medical Services England 2002-2012 7 Santry C, Lack of female CCG leaders puts future success of NHS at Risk, Health Services Journal 8 November, 2011 8 Newman P, NHS Leadership Academy, Releasing Potential: Women Doctors and Clinical Leadership October 2011 9 Women Doctors 'Burden The NHS When They Have Families', Says Tory MP Anne McIntosh. Huffington Post UK, Felicity Morse 05/06/2013  10 Creighton P, Scott N, Cronk P. Right Management. Leadership Framework 360 Tool Research Report 6 Month Analysis July 2012 http://www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NHSLeadership-LF360FeedbackTool-6Month-Analysis-ExecSummary.pdf 11 Economics and Research Council. Female Surgeons: Cutting the Gender Gap. May 2013. http://www.esrc.ac.uk/impacts-and-findings/features-casestudies/features/26032/female-surgeons-cutting-the-gender-gap.aspx 12 Konrad, A., Kƌaŵeƌ, V., aŶd Eƌkut, “., ϮϬϬϴ, ͞CƌitiĐal ŵass: The iŵpaĐt of thƌee oƌ ŵoƌe women on coƌpoƌate ďoaƌds͟, OƌgaŶizatioŶal DyŶaŵiĐs, ϯϳ;ϮͿ: ϭϰϱ-164. 13 Terjesen, S. Sealy, R. & Singh, V., 2009, ͞WoŵeŶ diƌeĐtoƌs oŶ Đoƌpoƌate ďoaƌds: A ƌeǀieǁ aŶd ƌeseaƌĐh ageŶda͟, Coƌpoƌate GoǀeƌŶaŶĐe: AŶ IŶteƌŶatioŶal ‘eǀieǁ, ϭϳ;ϯͿ:ϯϮϬ-337. 14 Women in Medicine; Opportunity blocks CMO Annual report 2006 pp49-55                                                                                                                                             15 Women Doctors; Making a Difference. Report of the Chair of the National Working Group on Women in Medicine October 2009 (Deech report) 16 Women and Medicine. The future. A report on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians June 2009 17 Lord Davies, Women on Boards, February 2011 

Breaking down barriers for women doctors

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

City Research Online