The lead Editorial in this week's Lancet discusses the recent report from the UK Royal College of Physicians (RCP): Women and medicine: the future. It says that while women enjoy most of the same opportunities as men career-wise, there is room for improvement in some areas.
By 2013, it is likely that most general practitioners (GPs) will be women, and, by 2017, most doctors within the NHS will be women. The Editorial says: "There is...no evidence of lack of progression of women within their medical careers. In 2007, women held the majority of specialist training positions in most medical specialties including general practice. 47% of those achieving consultant positions between 30 and 34 years of age are women compared with 20% of consultants over the age of 55. Given the increase in consultant positions available with the drive to consultant-delivered patient care, the prospects for women and men reaching consultant level are good."
However, the Editorial adds that women are underrepresented in certain areas. It says: "Few women are medical directors of NHS trusts or chair professional executive committees on primary care trusts, a woman has yet to become president of a surgical royal college, only 12% of clinical professors are women, and six medical schools had no female professors in 2006. Women remain substantially underrepresented in academic medicine, particularly in senior positions, and in science more generally, in the UK and the USA. Lack of female role models, mentors, and few women on appointment committees have been identified as important barriers to progression in academia, together with insufficient support for flexible working from academic leaders."
It concludes with some general comments about the medical workforce, saying: "The impact of the European Working Time Directive on training and career development has yet to be fully appreciated, but undoubtedly more doctors are needed, and there is no reason to change the current merit-based selection process. So long as the total number of doctors continues to increase, providing a larger pool of talent, the medical profession should be secure in the hands of both women and men."
The Lancet Press Office T) +44 (0) 20 7424 4949 E) pressoffice@lancet.com
For full Editorial see: http://press.thelancet.com/women.pdf
Journal
The Lancet