gender and work

Use one example of an organisation or issue you are familiar with to explore in what ways is gender relevant for work and organisation in the 21st century?
How is Gender discrimination relevant in the medical profession in the 21st century? In this essay I will to draw upon a key area of gender & work by using an example of an issue I am familiar with to explore why gender is relevant to work and organisations in the 21st century. This essay will provide a theoretical analysis in relation to Gender discrimination inside the medical profession. The main body of literature will include an introduction into gender and the professional medical field,reasons behind discrimination in the profession, key examples of the issue and the effects it has on the medical industry. To conclude I aim to identify what I 've learnt during my research and findings and to negotiate future directions for research in the medical field. My reflective analysis will contain my opinion on findings and I will discuss how the key issue could effect me as an individual in future employment. I aim to look at the chosen topic from different perspectives and take into account every opinion in order to address the question effectively.
Gender discrimination is treating an individual less favourably because of their sex, or due to the sex of someone who they are associated with. Sex discrimination is against the law and is problematic inside the working environment (Caceres-Rodriguez, Rick 2013). Peoples assumptions and individuals attitudes are moulded due to modern society culture and views on gender expectation. Gender discrimination can be undertaken through pay differences, the right to further training and in bias selection of promotion and recruitment (Acas- Sex discrimination, 2010). Sex discrimination also includes behaving or treating an employee or applicant in a different manner because he or she does not conform to the regular notion of felinity or masculinity. Discrimination could also be based on harassment or unwanted flirtatious behaviour, quite frequently involving sexual favours with in the workplace. (fighting for equality, sex discrimination at work, 2013) General remarks against an individual is seen on times as an act of discrimination.
In the United Kingdom alone, over 1.7 million people are employed directly through the National Health Service (NHS, 2014) . Catering to approximately 52m people, It is the oldest and largest single-payer in the world. Worldwide the World Health Organisation estimates that there are approximately 4.3 million physicians, nurses and other medical professionals, the worlds biggest employer. The vast number of employees in the healthcare profession is one of the many reasons why gender discrimination has been such a well documented topic in recent years, notably from the U.S as private enterprises strive to compete in the financial climate. In modern society, it is typical for the doctor to be referred to as a ‘He’ and the nurse as a ‘she’. One must ask, why do we relate to these separate professions with gender divisions? Statistically we see the answer. In the 1970s only ten percent of physicians in the US were women and in 2009, the figure had only accelerated to thirty percent (Goldin, katz,2002) . History shows that the medical profession is relatively new to the female gender. For over a hundred years, it is the male that has taken over the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. Does this gender domination inside the field result in male being favoured to fill the next job promotion? In addition to thus experts suggest that the quality in female healthcare is effected by the male influence at the top of the managerial ladder. As a result of a majority male gender at the top of the medical hierarchy,it’s second nature for research to be bias towards male health issues and in turn result in better medical intelligence of male diagnosis.
In an effort to discover why there is such an exposed issue of gender discrimination in the medical field it is important to take insight into the very beginning of a physicians career. Medical school is a very competitive four year course with the purpose of educating student to become qualified physicians. In the U.S an individual would require a four year bachelors degree, quite often in human biology to apply to a medical school. At the Harvard medical school, approximately 6,591 will apply each year but only 165 will be accepted (Harvard school acceptance rate,2013). In terms of gender figures in medical schools, in ‘’2009-2010, of 129,929 medical school faculty, women were 36.0% of medical faculty members’’ (Women in medicine, knowledge centre,2012). However ‘’the total number of men and women applying to and enrolling in medical school is fairly equally split, with male enrolees accounting for approximately 53 percent and female enrolees accounting for 47 percent of the 2013 class’’ (Medical School Applicants, Enrolment Reach All-time Highs, 2013). Further insight into the British NHS shows that at least 60% of students applying to british medical schools are female however only 6% of consultant surgeons are of female gender. The figures clearly show that a male applicant to medical school, statistically has a greater chance of being accepted. One can only assume that male applicants are either showing greater skills in terms of academic performance or could it be simply that the selection of medical students is still discriminative in this day and age.
One of the primary gender discriminative acts documented in recent years is the pay difference between male and females within the medical profession. During the course of a 35 year career, females will receive on average 2.3 million dollars pay difference than that of males in the same job role (Goudreau, Jenna,2011). Figures from the journal of health economics show that a females GP’s income was 70% in 2008 and their income per hour was 89% compared to their male counterparts. What we must take into account is that females are more than likely to work less hours than males due to family commitments and that they are also more likely to work for smaller health firms, especially in the U.S. Experts suggest that this is because males generally have a greater interest in working for a well established, prestigious firm and will strive to gain a relationship with a highly reputable firm. Interestingly research shows that a male’s job satisfaction in terms of wage is greater when pay difference is more prominent between male and females (Hampton, Mary B., Heywood, John S,1993). As a societally we feel that it is immoral to treat women differently, but in relation to job satisfaction, men contradict as they feel greater success and satisfaction with a greater wage package. The notion that men in society and culture are the bread earners and it could be argued that as humans it is an individuals ego that is the key influencer in personal fulfilment.
Some of the income disparities can be a result of the specialist roles that men are more likely to operate in. On the other hand, job roles where there is a high concentration of women tends to result in only a marginal income disparity between both genders. It must be suggested on this note that women’s access to higher end payed jobs are very much obstructed. Potential discriminatory barriers may have greater effect on women than any other factor in discriminative behaviour.
It is not uncommon for women in the medical profession to accept larger amount of responsibility for the family, and generally less time to fulfil their ideal job requirements. A woman who is seen as an individual who is looking to give birth is a burden as far as an organisations is concerned (Quinlan, Daniel c, Shakelford, Jean A, 1980). The combination of motherhood and career is a recipe for a lot of stress, especially in work with high requirements in the medical industry. We can look at ‘’one recent study, where full-time female and male paediatricians were surveyed. Female paediatricians performed 66% of child care and 63% of their household 's duties while male paediatricians performed 19% of child care and 26% of their household 's duties.17 percent had little flexibility in parenting roles or workplace structure, developed to accommodate the greater presence of mothers in medicine’’ (CEJA Report G – A-93,1993). Women who take time off to give birth puts bigger stress on their colleagues to make up for lost time and therefore that individual is a source of resentment.
It is an old fashioned view of approach to look at women as the full time mother and the father as the bread earner (Arkin,2014). In the modern world it is impossible to ignore the fact that there is more female entrepreneurs present than ever before and is seen as a symbol of female independence.
In terms of ongoing discrimination, the glass ceiling effect is always closely related. The federal glass ceiling commission (1995) described it as the ‘artificial barrier to the advancement of women and minorities’ It is the notion that gender inequality prevents or delays an individual from being promoted to a higher role within a hierarchy structure inside an organisation. A quote retrieved from (Lefford,2000) suggests that it is a major problem in the medical profession as she states The record suggests that being female is a handicap to achieving consultant status, particularly in the popular specialities such as medicine, surgery and obstetrics . In relation to this, many women find themselves tied into the sticky floor effect, it is the inability to move from the very bottom as they have been given far less institutional resources. One of the first examples of the identity of the ‘glass ceiling effect’ can be noted by (Nickerson,KG,Bennett NM,Estes D,1990) as she compares the positions and promotions of workers at Columbia College of Physicians and in essence relates to it as a cause of sexism. It has been argued that in some cases women of colour have experienced a concrete ceiling effect, making it virtually impossible for them to be in an exceptionally well payed job in the medical profession.
In serious cases of gender discrimination, it is not uncommon for women to be sexualy harassed in the workplace. Harassment is the unwelcoming advances, request for sexual favours, and other means of physical or verbal bribery where rejection puts the individual in a less advantageous position. The association of women for action and research in the medical profession, 2014 (aware) shows a study with 500 respondents (men&women) between 92 companies. 54% had experienced some form of sexual harassment. Of these, 79% were female and 21% were male. 12% had received threats of termination if they did not comply with the requests of the sexual harassers. in a separate study on sexual harassment in the medical profession, 79% of women had experienced harassment during medical school, 64.2% in residency training, and 41.8% in their practice.
Despite the frequent ongoing case of harassment in the workplace, approximately 80% of cases are followed through with no corrective action. In many cases, this was due to the harassment not being formally reported. Majority of the cases involve managers who are in superior job roles to the victims. These victims are often in fear of being seen as a whistle blower and effectively turn a blind eye to it.
We should not ignore also that men have felt discriminated against due to their sexuality and felt that women were shown favouritism in their career path as a result their good looks and flirtatious behaviour towards the senior. If sexual harassment is to be eliminated from the medical profession, policies must be accompanied by a willingness to grant women fair access to the highest positions of power as well as a desire to challenge the most traditional hierarchies of medicine which have been inhospitable to women.
Reflective analysis
Sexual discrimination is not only ethically and morally incorrect,it is illegal,however it is clearly still an ongoing issue inside the medical profession all over the world in every segment of health service, especially as we hinder towards the higher paid jobs. What we must highlight is that gender inequality not only effects medics in the working world but also is problematic in the education system. It seems that as much as unions try to fight for gender equality, subconscious decisions made by individuals at the higher end of the hierarchy still to this day favour males. Discriminative practices in the medical profession include pay differences, unequal opportunities of promotion and sexual harassment in the workplace. Although statistics show that females are narrowly closing the gender gap in the medical field, it is not corresponding with the equal amount of men and women applying for education in medicine. Until societies attitudes on what women should and are allowed to do change, gender discrimination will still be an issue in medicine. Starting from the very begging, equal opportunities in all paths of life should be given to individuals of both genders with the freedom to choose any career path without the fear of not succeeding due to gender differences.
During writing this essay I have learned that Law’s in the workplace have many grey areas and individuals will always bend rules to favour the organisations operations and profit margins. I have also been made aware of the influence that societies attitudes towards women make on relative decisions in the workplace. In terms of personal career, I aim to treat men and women completely equal in all aspects of the job role and to be act as professional as possible, not only at the bottom of an organisational hierarchy but also if given the opportunity as a leader. As a future manager I would implement thorough training in the Human Resource department in recruiting with a critical objective to be as fair as possible. This involves every applicant without discriminating in any way. It is critical that this notion of equality drives through the entire organisation in order to make operations, decisions and practices as efficient, fair and profitable as possible.
Bibliography
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