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Potential barriers in equality and diversity in healthcare
Potential barriers in equality and diversity in healthcare
Why is it important to promote equality in health and social care
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In 1970 women comprised 7.6% of physicians in the United States (see Table 1). Today 38.2% of physicians are women (see Table 4). This sharp influx of female physicians among the United States' labor force is largely due to changes in women's roles in American culture and society. Political movements and newly adopted policy in the 1970s sparked social and cultural changes, which led to the increase in female doctors over the past fifty years. While in some occupations, such as grade-school teachers, there exists a linkage between the declining status of the occupation and the increased female representation in the occupation, this trend is not seen among physicians. In 1970, the ratio of male to female physicians was nearly twelve to one, …show more content…
but over the last half-century, the gap between the number of male and female physicians has narrowed significantly (see Table 1). Women’s composition in the physician workforce has been growing at an increasing rate – by four percentage points during the 1970s, five percentage points during the 1980s, and seven percentage points during the 1990s – to the point where women made up over one quarter of all U.S. physicians by the end of the twentieth century (see Figure 1). This continuous growth has not faltered, which suggests that both short-term and long-term changes were critical to the increase of female composition in the occupation. Great change in society resulting from political movements and newly adopted policy in the 70s set up the foundation for long-term growth of female physicians.
The second wave of the Feminist Movement, consisting of newly passed policies and impactful Supreme Court cases such as Reed v. Reed and Roe v. Wade, enacted change in society's traditional mindset regarding women's roles in society and consequently gave rise to the gradual increase of female physicians over the last half-century. In the 1970-71 academic year, 9.2% of medical school graduates were women, and by the 1975-76 academic year, 16.2% of medical school graduates were women (see Table 3). The rise in female medical school graduates in the 1970s can be attributed to the removal of female barriers to higher education, to the growth of medical schools, and to the conclusion of the military draft for young men (Boulis 26-7). In 1972 the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments forbade sex-based discrimination for educational programs that received federal funding, which included most medical schools. While obstacles remained, institutions started to act accordingly, placing importance on the integration of more women into their medical …show more content…
schools. Today, women makeup roughly 50% of medical school graduates across the United States (see Table 3).
In 1971 medical schools began to receive federal grants in order to increase enrollment and the number of primary care doctors as the government felt there existed a shortage in ambulatory care and regional physicians (Boulis 26). From 1960 to 1980, forty-one medical schools were newly constructed, and between 1970 and 1980, the overall number of acceptances to medical schools in the United States rose from 11,509 to 16,886 (26). These new created spots in medical school classes were largely filled by women. Furthermore, the elimination of the male draft in 1973 led to a decline in male applications to medical school in the late 1970s. Some men beginning in the late 1960s and into the early 1970s used medical school to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War; consequently, male medical school applications increased in number (Boulis 27). However, once the draft was eliminated in 1973, there was a decline in male applications to medical school because men no longer used medical school to avoid
war. The events of the 1970s catapulted female representation in the physician workforce into long-term growth that continues today. Pioneers of the feminist movement in the 60s and 70s served as role models for women of the 80s and 90s giving rise to widespread encouragement of females to enter into the medical force. In 1973 over a quarter of those sampled reported they would recommend medicine as a profession to young men while only 6% reported they would recommend medicine to young women (see Figure 3). Between 1973 and 1985, a dramatic shift occurs. Recommendation percentages to enter the medical field among young men and women become roughly equal at 8% (see Figure 3). From 1985 to 2005, there is a steady increase in the recommendation percentage for both parties, and approximately 3% more of those sampled reported they would recommend medicine as a profession to young women rather than young men (see Figure 3). Relative to the encouragement of young men into medicine in 1973, the encouragement of young women into medicine has increased immensely. Furthermore, in the last fifty years more women are applying to medical school as more women are graduating from college and majoring in science, particularly biology. Figure 4 illustrates only 9% of the female population had completed four or more years of college in 1970 while 35.7% of the female population had done so in 2015. There was a 100% increase in biology degrees received by females from 1965 to 2013 (see Table 5). Consequently, female applications to medical school as a percentage of the total number of applications sharply increased from 10.9% in 1970 to 40.3% in 1990 (see Table 3). A decline in physician status could serve as another explanation to the surge of female doctors and the relative decrease in the number of male doctors under the presumption that there exists an inverse relationship between the female composition of the medical force and the status of physicians. However, the status of physicians has not had any major changes despite the rapid growth of female physicians since the 1970s. As females have continued to enter the physician workforce, the status of physicians has remained above other occupations. Heathcare policies, governmental oversight, and managed care had no significant impact on physicians or their income during the 1970s and 1980s relative to previous work conditions in the 1960s (Boulis 22). In 1980 7.2% more respondents reported that they had a greater confidence in medicine than in the scientific community (see Figure 2). This difference in confidence in medicine over the scientific community remains relatively constant until 1990. Furthermore, medicine has received the highest rating of confidence among other occupations since 1970 (see Figure 2). Thus, this surveyed confidence measure in conjunction with the relative stable state of physicians from 1970 to 1990 fails to contribute to the argument that a decline in occupation status caused female physician numbers to rise. When analyzing the current role women play in medicine, it is important to value progress while fully understanding the demand for sustainable growth. Women have made noteworthy advancements in medical education, training and residency opportunities, and overall representation of physicians, specifically over the last half-century. As the statistics exemplify, female representation among physicians is trending upwards. However, considering that females account for roughly half the population of the United States today, a disparity between the gender makeups of physicians and the national population is evident.
The role of females in mainstream culture has grown significantly from the conservative and restricted characters of women in early nineteenth century media. Coupled with the influx of women into once male dominated fields such as medicine, the image of female success has continued to develop and become more prominent to this day. In modern day society however, several stereotypes surrounding both males and females within the medical field are still present in popular culture. In media concerned with the medical field such as television and cinematic works, the conventional image of a white, male surgeon along with his cast of female nurses and male physicians is seen often. Grey’s Anatomy
Title IX also increased the opportunity of women to be free from sexual harassment in schools. It made sure that, "A high school student who was alleged ly subjected to sexual harassment and abuse by her coach-teacher could seek monetary damages against a school district under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972" (Wooster, "Sexual Harassment of Students under Title IX," p.
During the 1960’s there was a lot of major events that happened in the United States. The 1960’s was known as a decade of “culture and change”, there were lots of political and cultural changes. (Anastakis, 22) One particular movement that was important to society and the country was the Women’s Movement also called the “Feminism Movement”. The first women movement which happened a few decades before focused on gender equality and overcoming different legal problems. The 1960’s women’s movement focused more on different issues such as family, sexuality, workplace issues, and also rights of reproductively. (MacLean, 45) I chose to cover this topic because women have always been influential throughout history, and I being a woman it is important to know about our rights and who paved the way for us.
Before the 1970’s, several colleges and universities declined female applicants (Happy Birthday 16). Females were discriminated because of their gender or because of their weakness. They were sexually harassed before Title IX and the statement “boys will be boys” was often used to excuse the boys’ behavior (Happy Birthday 16). Boys did not get in trouble for discriminating girls. Girls were excluded from youth leagues and other sports programs (Anderson). Women did not get the chance because most people said they were not interested. Many women helped Congress to forbid gender discrimination in public schools (Obama 10). This was a start for gender equality for girls in sports and education.
The once male dominated, corporate, "white collar" America has seen a phenomenal influx of women within the last thirty years. Although a female lawyer, physician, or CEO is no longer considered a rarity in our times, women still face quite a deal of oppression in comparison to their male counterparts. In retrospect, some professions have always been controlled by women, and men have not made a noticeable advance in these fields. In 1970, finding a female lawyer to represent you would be a difficult task, since less than five percent of the profession were women. Today, that number has risen to almost thirty percent. The percentage of female doctors has almost tripled in the course of thirty years. African Americans have not made such a conspicuous progression within the last fifty years, while women have made a tremendous impact on the corporate world. One may wonder, how did women make these extraordinary advances? For the most part, it is due to the education they receive. At the present time young girls are encouraged to enroll in classes dealing with math and science, rather than home economics and typing. As pointed out by Nanette Asimov, in her essay "Fewer Teen Girls Enrolling in Technology Classes", school officials are advocating the necessity of advanced placement, and honor classes for teenage girls, in both the arts and sciences. This support and reassurance than carries over onto college, and finds a permanent fixture in a woman’s life. While women are continuing their success in once exclusively male oriented professions, they are still lacking the respect and equality from their peers, coworkers, and society. The average male lawyer, and doctor make twenty-five percent more money than their female equivalent. Women have always lived with the reputation of being intellectually inferior to, and physically submissive to men. This medieval, ignorant notion is far fetched from the truth. In 1999, high school men and women posted similar SAT scores, being separated by a only a few points. In addition to posting similar scores on the SAT, the average males score was a mere two-tenths of a point higher than an average females score on the ACT. Even though a woman maybe as qualified as a male for a certain occupation , women receive unwanted harassment, and are under strict scrutiny. A good illustration of this would be the women represented in "Two Women Cadets Leave the Citadel.
Much has changed for women since the 1970’s. One of the most important events that have happened in the world of female athletics is the establishment of professional athletics for women. Educational Amendments of 1972. These amendments assure that everyone who wants an education is treated equally no matter what race or gender, to create opportunities for everyone. Most important of those amendments is Title IX.
While the concept of the profession began in the 17th century, our paper will focus more on the contemporary American history starting in the 1940s. Dr. Amos Johnson, a founder of the American Board of Family Practice, hired a hospital orderly named Henry Treadwell to assist in the daily activities of his office. Dr. Johnson’s practice in Garland, North Carolina, initiated the spread of the physician assistant model across the state. Dr. Eugene Stead and his general medicine residents at Duke University took interest in this idea. In 1942, due to the lack of adequate medical care during World War II, Dr. Stead created a three year medical doctorate fast-track program. This sparked the idea that perhaps one day he could implement a similar program to alleviate the physician shortage in the United States.
...ousness-raising" groups, which rapidly expanded in number. These women met to discuss the injustice of "sexism," an equivalent to racism; they began to start many feminist projects, such as health collectives, day care centers, rape crisis centers, abortion counseling services and women’s study programs. In the 1970’s they focused on three issues: equality in education/employment, access to legal abortions and the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Congress also approved Title IX of the Higher Education Act. This Act prohibited bias on the basis of sex in any educational program that received federal resources. So, many universities and military academies that was once all-male were forced to accept women students. While great strides were made in women’s equality, the wage discrepancy between men and women for the same jobs remains prevalent today.
It has been said by many experts that there has been a surplus of physicians in the past, but that there will soon be a shortage of physicians. This shortage will have been instigated by many factors, and is predicted to have various effects on society, both immediate and long term. There have been proposed solutions to this shortage, but there is a fine balance to be found with these many solutions and factors. However, once this balance is found, the long-term mending of the physician shortage may begin.
But when the “Women’s Movement,” is referred to, one would most likely think about the strides taken during the 1960’s for equal treatment of women. The sixties started off with a bang for women, as the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman, and Betty Friedan published her famous and groundbreaking book, “The Feminine Mystique” (Imbornoni). The Women’s Movement of the 1960’s was a ground-breaking part of American history because along with African-Americans another minority group stood up for equality, women were finished with being complacent, and it changed women’s lives today.
There are many women who had huge influences in the advancement of heath and medicine. Many people don’t realize how much women do and how much they have contributed to the medical world and its advancements. From Lillian D. Wald, who worked with the less fortunate and children in schools, to Virginia Apgar, who worked with mothers and their newborns and also came up with the “Apgar Score,” and Eku Esu-Williams who is an immunologist and an AIDS Educator. Even though women did so much, many people were sexist and didn’t want to acknowledge what they did or give them the chance to do things, such as become doctors. I want to inform people on how much these women have contributed to the world of healthcare and medicine so that people won’t be so sexist towards women.
In the 1960’s women were still seen as trophies and were beginning to be accepted into the work industry. They were still homemakers, raised the family, and made sure their husbands were happy. That was the social norms for women during that time period. They were not held to high work expectations like men were. But something amazing happened that would change women 's lives for centuries; it was the 1970’s. The 60’s put the equality movement in motion but 70’s was a time of reform where women were finally able to control their own paths. Not only was the 70’s a historical marker for the fiftieth anniversary for women suffrage, it was also a marker for the drastic change of different social norms, the changes of the American Dream, and the
While the 1960s were a time of advancement for minorities, it was also a time of advancement for women. In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, which outlawed discrimination in the workplace based on a person’s sex (Foner 944). To ensure that women would have the same opportunities as men in jobs, education, and political participation, the National Organization for women was formed in 1966 (Foner 944). The sixties also marked the beginning of a public campaign to repeal state laws that banned abortion or left the decision to terminate a pregnancy to physicians instead of the woman (Foner 945).
...ld. Women are most often stereotyped as only being nurses or other lower-end health professionals. There is a huge difference between the percent of males and the percent of females when it comes to more advanced medical fields. A study conducted by Reed and Fischer found that women are not promoted at the same rate as men in medical fields. They feel that women are under-represented in higher medical positions. The CEJA found that there is a large difference in salaries between men and women. Studies show that the average female physician earns 34 percent less than her male counterpart. Female physicians are more likely to earn a relatively low income and are less likely to gain a relatively higher income. For example, while 19 percent of female physicians earned less than $60,000, only 7 percent of male physicians earned less than that same amount (CEJA, 1994).
In the operation of the healthcare system, gender plays a central role. Gender discrimination in the healthcare exists either in the field of education, workplace or while attending to the patients. Interestingly, as opposed to other areas where discrimination lies heavily to a particular gender; gender inequality in health happens to both women and men. Gender inequality in the health care service negatively affects the quality of care given and perpetuates patient biases to a gender. Also, the gender disparities in the field of health assists researchers and practitioners to study conditions and their probable manifestations within both sexes.