The current status of gender equity in medicine in Korea: an online survey about perceived gender discrimination

Abstract

Background Although the number of women doctors has increased in South Korea, and efforts to improve gender awareness have gained importance in recent years, the issue of gender equity in the medical field has not been fully evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the current status of gender equity in the medical profession in Korea. Methods An online survey on perceived gender discrimination was conducted for 2 months, with both men and women doctors participating. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results A total of 1170 doctors responded to the survey (9.2% response rate). The survey found that 47.3% of the women respondents and 18.2% of the men had experienced gender discrimination in the resident selection process (P < 0.05), 17.2% of the women and 8.7% of the men had experienced discrimination during the fellowship application process (P < 0.05), and 36.2% of the women and 8.0% of the men had experienced discrimination during the professorship application process (P < 0.05). Both men and women cited the issue of childbirth and parenting as the number one cause of gender discrimination against women doctors. Conclusions This study revealed the presence of perceived gender discrimination in the Korean medical society. To address discrimination, a basic approach is necessary to change the working environment so that it is flexible for women doctors, and to change the current culture where the burden of family care, including pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare, is the primary responsibility of women.

Experiences and Perceptions of Gender Discrimination and Equality among Korean Surgeons: Results of a Survey of the Korean Surgical Society

“…There have been only very few academic studies on gender discrimination in medicine. The most recent study by Shin and Lee, 33 which analyzed the survey conducted by the Korean Medical Women's Association and the Korean Intern Resident Association in 2019, is also consistent with our findings. They discovered that women showed significantly higher perception of gender discrimination than men in all surveyed areas of gender inequality, including residency, professorship, employment, promotion, pay and compensation, participation in decision making.…”

“… 15 17 29 42 Gender difference was also found in terms of the necessary effort to reduce gender discrimination, where female surgeons were significantly more likely to point out changing the male-dominated culture. A 2019 survey by Shin and Lee 33 also found a similar result in which women gave much higher priority to “correcting men-oriented medical practices pattern” as necessary than men did. Such gender differences in the perception of the causes of discrimination and necessary measures to reduce discrimination is evidence that raising male surgeons' awareness of discrimination against women and creating consensus is the beginning of a positive change.…”

“…12.6–47.3% of women in medicine experienced discrimination across the various areas of inequality. 33 A similar study by the Korean Women's Medical Association in 2011 also found that 41.0–74.2% of women in medicine agreed that discrimination existed in hiring, position, promotion, performance evaluation, etc. 34 Our current study is consistent with these prior findings such that women showed higher perception of gender discrimination, ranging from 20.6% to 87.9% than men.…”

“…The results were consistent with the findings of previous studies that have identified the challenges that female surgeons and physicians experience, such as the gender pay gap, lack of role models and mentors, gender biases, and the lower likelihood of working in academic surgery and in leadership positions. 1 14 16 17 25 30 33 In addition, implicit forms of discrimination, for example, the imbalanced allocation of resources or reduced access to informal networking opportunities, were no less prevalent than the obvious and visible forms in surgery. The results suggest that the traditional conceptualization of gender discrimination may fall short of capturing its full range.…”

Vaccine-Related Errors in Reconstitution in South Korea: A National Physicians’ and Nurses’ Survey

“…Of the respondents, 76% of physicians were men, whereas 95.3% of nurses were women. The proportion of male physician respondents is aligned with the physician population in Korea (74.6% male in 2017) [ 16 ], and the proportion of female nurses is aligned with the nursing gender balance (approx. 95% female) [ 17 ].…”