Study on US doctors who are also mothers shows that they report facing discrimination in the workplace, something to chew on this Mother’s Day
A sobering thought this Mother’s Day – being a mother and a doctor is not easy.
A study on women doctors in the US found that women physicians are paid less, are less likely to be promoted, and, on average, spend 8.5 more hours per week on household activities. This despite the fact that hospital mortality and readmission rates were lower for Medicare patients treated by female than male physicians.
The study that was published in JAMA Internal Medicine also found that women physicians on an average spent 8.5 hours per week on household activities. “Despite substantial increases in the number of female physicians—the majority of whom are mothers—our findings suggest that gender-based discrimination remains common in medicine, and that discrimination specifically based on motherhood is an important reason. To promote gender equity and retain high-quality physicians, employers should implement policies that reduce maternal discrimination and support gender equity such as longer paid maternity leave, backup child care, lactation support, and increased schedule flexibility,” the study concluded.
The study was conducted online through a question posted to the Physician Moms Group. Established in 2014, the Physician Moms Group is an online community with more than 60 000 physician members in the United States who self-identify as mothers
In the study 77.9% respondents reported some type of discrimination. The study was done by the University of California, San Francisco.
The study attempted to probe discrimination that included those based on race or ethnicity, gender, age, being an international medical graduate, sexual orientation or gender identity, pregnancy or maternity leave, breastfeeding, mental health problems, and physical disability. Maternal discrimination was defined as self-reported discrimination based on pregnancy, maternity leave, or breastfeeding. Participants were also asked “Have you ever experienced any of the following forms of discrimination at your workplace?”
The study was conducted online through a question posted to the Physician Moms Group. Established in 2014, the Physician Moms Group is an online community with more than 60 000 physician members in the United States who self-identify as mothers.
