Choosing specialty: Gender differences and disparities among medical students

Abstract

Participation of women in medical education has significantly increased in the last few decades, and they now constitute more than half of the total number of medical students in many countries. However, their under representation in traditionally masculine medical specialties is noticeable. The aim of this study is to highlight the topics in the previously published works on gender differences in medical education, as well as the factors influencing their reproduction, especially in the selection of specialization. A systematic search of papers was conducted using foreign and domestic electronic databases. We have analyzed 25 foreign and five domestic papers. In foreign research, five themes were identified: factors in specialization choice, gender differences in specialization selection, gender inequalities in medical specialties, gender-based discrimination in medical specializations and the importance of mentoring in specialization selection. The results indicate a lower interest of female students in surgery, discrimination they encounter in ?male? medical specialties, but also female mentors as one of the possible solutions in such situations. Working hours and lifestyle were the most important factors in choosing specialty. Analyzed papers showed that female and male students? choice of specialty was different. In addition, unequal opportunities for the advancement of women in medicine are impacted by glass ceiling effect, which, combined with the push factors and gender stereotypes, led to unequal representation of men and women in masculine medical specialties. Additionally, the results point out insufficient exploration of this topic in domestic literature.