Gender Bias in Healthcare

By: Shrividya Regadamilli

Whether it has to do with the lives being saved or the lives saving people, gender bias is often present in the healthcare community for reasons as simple as inherent belief stamped in by society. Due to this, it’s important to examine reasons for gender bias in healthcare, to analyze the effects, and to explore examples of potential solutions to decrease the divide between genders in the medical field.

According to the American Medical Association, “women have fewer leadership roles in organized medicine as well as academia”, “women physicians are routinely paid less for the same work and responsibilities”, and women frequently face implicit and explicit bias “that keeps [them] from advancing in [their] careers at the same pace as men”. A prominent concept behind this systemic discrimination is implicit bias, where one unintentionally assumes gender roles in different situations without being aware of it. According to Medical News Today, a study conducted in 2018 reveals that chronic pain was addressed far less in women than in men because of the common assumption that women are emotional and sensitive. Similarly, healthcare professionals typically view men as being less expressive when dealing with pain. Consequently, men are more likely to avoid asking for help when necessary, merely to avoid appearing “weak”. Furthermore, women are less represented in medical research and studies, which creates a knowledge gap of how to treat women in particular cases due to the genetic differences they have from men, according to the Nature science journal. In fact, the US general accounting service released a report revealing that eight drugs were removed between 1997 and 2000 merely due to their adverse and fatal side effects, which primarily occurred in women. Four of these drugs were more often prescribed for women than men, further illustrating the severe lack of medical knowledge and studies conducted on women.

According to a study conducted on medical professionals by BMC Medicine, women often felt excluded from informal networking activities after hours due to the lack of gender diversity in the medical workfield and, moreover, due to the innately inconsiderate scheduling of these events. As the primary caregivers of a family, women often have additional responsibilities, such as taking care of children, that limit them from participating more in work-related activities after hours, which may hinder their ability to exhibit leadership and, therefore, limits their career development. Furthermore, the same study illustrates how women often feel discouraged from choosing certain specialties where women are underrepresented, potentially due to the common stigma that the field may be difficult for women to pursue. Despite this not being a significant factor in choosing a specialty, it notably reinforces stereotypes and potentially limits choice in career.

Despite the strong effects of gender bias in healthcare, several studies allow various potential solutions to be explored. For example, modifying recruitment and promotion procedures to promote fairness and clear expectations in choosing a good candidate, establishing mandatory implicit bias training, and encouraging individual organizations to address institution-specific gender bias issues. Through understanding the reasons behind, the effects of, and solutions to gender bias in the medical field, addressing the issue becomes a more streamlined and efficient process.