A look at what pediatric hospitalists think of gender bias

While a new study found that most pediatric hospitalists say they’re happy with their careers, researchers also found that nearly one-third reported experiencing gender bias in the workplace. Most of the discrimination was gender bias, the study found, and most of it was reported by women.

Research published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine found that 77% of pediatric hospitalists were satisfied with their career and that 72% said they would choose their specialty as a career again. But not all female pediatric hospitalists shared those sentiments.

Female pediatric hospitalists, for example, were significantly more likely than their male colleagues to report being excluded from professional opportunities. They were also more likely to report being paid less than men, being excluded from making administrative decisions and facing disparities in promotions.

Here’s a look at the data—and what female pediatric hospitalists had to say about gender bias.

Gender bias and pediatric hospitalists

Of the nearly one-third of respondents who reported experiencing bias or discrimination in the workplace, most were women. Researchers noted that this wasn’t the first report of gender bias or discrimination in a specialty that’s so heavily populated by women. (Women make up about 73% of the pediatric hospitalist workforce.)

Other studies of female-dominated specialties like ob-gyn and pediatrics, for example, found that as many as 50% of female physicians reported gender discrimination. In one of those studies, by comparison, only 4% of men voiced similar complaints.

In the Journal of Hospital Medicine study, women were more likely than men to “perceive gender-specific biases or obstacles in the work environment” (45.5% for women compared to 26.5% for men). Women were also more likely to have experienced gender bias in promotions (40.8% vs. 10.9%).

When pediatric hospitalists were asked if they experienced any gender advantage in professional advancement, even men seemed to acknowledge the disparity. Among men, for example, 46.8% agreed that they personally experienced “gender advantage in professional advancement.” Only 3.6% of women agreed with the statement.

Researchers pointed to other signs of gender bias that female pediatric hospitalists face. More than one-quarter of all respondents, for example, said they were “treated with disrespect by other physicians or colleagues,” and 16.5% of all respondents said they were “treated with disrespect by nursing or other support staff.” Women were more likely than men to agree to both items.

Data in the study pointed to decreased career satisfaction among respondents. Fewer women than men, for example, agreed with the statement, “I am satisfied with my work-life balance. While 61% of men agreed with the statement, the number was 48% for female pediatric hospitalists.

Researchers noted that women were less likely than men to agree with these other statements: “My pay and benefits are equivalent to my peers,” “I was fairly considered for a promotion or senior management” and “I was included in administrative decision making.”

When discussing the findings of gender bias, one of the study’s conclusions was that “a high percentage of women in a specialty does not, in itself, protect against gender bias.”

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