Gender Discrimination and Harassment

Sexual and gender based harassment in the workplace is something that both men and women experience quite often and has become a major issue in healthcare. In a large national study done by Internal Medicine Journal, 47.7 percent of all women physicians reported having experienced gender-based harassment, and 36.9 percent reported sexual harassment. Many wonder what may be the cause of the high numbers in the health field, whether be because the high intense, personal nature of the work, working so closely together, or working long hours together.  A very valid point that I read about was because of the slowly decreasing but still high discrimination on women when hiring physicians, residents, and medical students. "The health care profession, to this date, is essentially sex-segregated, as 84 percent of physicians are male and 97 percent of nurses are female" states the "Empowering Women in Medicine" report by the Feminist Majority Foundation and New Media Publishing. While those numbers are astonishing, I believe we will be seeing a slow change into a more equal ratio. Studies consistently show that exposure to severe harassment has a direct impact on victims' emotional well-being and career satisfaction. One study concluded that "Women physicians generally report career satisfaction, but many, if given the choice, would not become a physician again or would choose a different specialty. Correctable factors such as work stress, harassment, and poor control over work environment should be addressed to improve the recruitment and retention of women physicians." (Frank, Murray, Linzer and Elon, "Results from the Women Physicians' Health Study", Internal Medicine, 1999; 159: 1417-1426).

It is quite likely that the high levels of reported sexual and gender based harassment of female medical students, residents, and physicians is related to the sudden presence of women in a traditionally white male dominated establishment. The American Medical Association has stated that, "Physician leaders in medical schools and other medical institutions should take immediate steps to increase the number of women in leadership positions as such positions become open." While I agree with fixing sexual and gender based harassment within the healthcare system, I do not think it is quite as easy of a solution as the American Medical Association suggests. You should never hire into any position for any case other that because that person is the most qualified and the best one for the job. While I do think the both harassment forms need to be resolved immediately, I think looking specifically for a woman to fill a position can only cause resentment within. I think there are plenty of highly qualified men and women out there and I think the best one should get the job. If we push for this “women only until equal” we are only creating another gender bias.

Overall, my assessment is that both men women should be created equal no matter what, and sexual harassment should be taken more seriously within the workplace. Managers and supervisors should take more responsibility when dealing with each individual case of harassment when it takes place.