Alexia Tawes

Writing for the Sciences

English 21003

Informative Review

Final Draft

9/15/2020

Gender Bias, mostly in Health Care

The more research done, the more it shows a bias against women in the healthcare system. From the way medicines are researched and tested to the approach doctors take when diagnosing and treating diseases, research shows that bias against women is real in healthcare. Why is it that women brought to emergency rooms are more likely to die in comparison to men in the same exact situation ?  Why is it that a man and a woman may be suffering from the same sickness but the symptoms in a woman may more than likely be missed during exams ? Whether you want to call it disparities, sexism or gender bias in healthcare, do know that it exists.

In a nutshell, Gender Bias is the preference of one gender over the other whether conscious or unconscious. If we’re speaking generally, Gender Bias exist because of the preference men receive. Often labeled as sexism, people are more prejudiced when it comes to women solely on the basis of their sex. Gender bias is more visible when it comes to professional settings. We see gender bias in professional settings in many ways. One of them being unequal pay. Though wage has more to do with the government than the business itself, we do see that men are paid more than women. A person’s salary should not be based on their gender but on the way they perform and how much experience they have. 

Another way in which gender bias is seen is when it comes to opportunities in a business. A male and a female can have the same education from the same institution and the same amount of experience but the male will be considered more qualified to climb the ladder of opportunity and become a CEO faster than a woman. A woman has to work twice as hard or they will not be seen as capable. I guess this is because women are seen as minorities and so it is hard of them to achieve elevated professional success. Another factor that can contribute to the fact that men climb the ladder of opportunity quicker than women is the fact that leaders are expected to be authoritative but when women act that way they are seen as aggressive, which gives man the upper hand because if they act assertive that’s normal. When you visit a business and the secretary or the receptionist is a female and the security guard is a male, that is another example of gender bias. 

When discussing why gender bias exists in healthcare, we can look at this from two different points of views. It can be looked at from the patient’s perspective or from the healthcare provider perspective. From the patients perspective, Gender Bias exists because female patients aren’t taken seriously when they report certain symptoms or illnesses. Women are significantly neglected in healthcare. Doctors tend to discount women’s pain by not taking them seriously, not researching conditions that are more common in women, not including women in clinical trials and assuming that what works on a man will work on a woman the same way, and not preparing for a woman’s problem by having the equipment needed.

From a healthcare provider perspective, According to US news, Male Primary care physicians earn an average of $239,000 per year compared to females who earn an average of $203,000 per year. This is an 18% gap. Male specialist physicians earn an average of $358,000 per year compared to females who earn an average of $263,000 per year. This is a 36% gap. This in itself is gender bias because both of them went through the same schooling and the same residency so why is there a pay gap? This also ties back into the wage gap spoken about earlier.

When we look at the obstetrics and gynecology specialty, we realize that 59% of gynecologists are women yet female obstetrician-gynecologists make $36,000 less for the year than a male obstetrician- gynecologist. Another example is the fact that women doctors are often mistaken for nurses. Women physicians are often less respected and treated differently by administration, other physicians and their patients. 

Societal stereotypes of women contribute to this idea that creates this bias because women are already seen as a minority. Healthcare makes it no better. Not only are the female physicians treated differently but the female patients are treated differently also. Additionally society has yet to grasp the fact that women are evolving in healthcare just as a man are so they respect a male physician more.

The disparity when it comes to sex boils down to the physicians and them not taking the symptoms of a woman seriously. A study shows that the leading cause of death for American women over the age of 40 is heart disease. Majority might say it is breast cancer because that is believable but just like man women are prone to heart disease. Because many doctors might look at it as unusual, they do not look out for the signs, the symptoms and they do not treat it which leads to death. This is because the risk of certain conditions are underestimated.  Though women are more likely to suffer from chronic pain compared to men, studies show that when women report this, it is dismissed. In areas like cardiac care and pain management, women are treated differently which leads to a poor health outcome in comparison with male patients who present the same condition and receive better evidence-based care. When discussing gender bias, it is important to bring up women dying during childbirth. That is an instance of bias because the women are neglected and and are not treated the same as opposed to a man needing critical care. Studies also show that women have been underrepresented in clinical trials which means that the effect of some treatments aren’t successful as they would have been in men.

We know that gender bias has damaging effects because it can lead to death. Gender bias in healthcare cannot be combated without bringing it to light. Most healthcare providers may have implicit bias when treating patients. More women have to be involved in clinical trials,  sex specific differences have to be acknowledged, public awareness has to be increased, and diversity has to be embraced. The way people are hired also needs to be changed. People should be hired based on how qualified they are and the experiences that they have rather than their gender.

Some people may say that gender bias in healthcare does not exist. This can be supported by looking at the life expectancy rates in men and women. When you compare them women are expected to live longer than men. Another idea is the fact that medical schools are now producing over 60% of female physicians compared to males. Also nurses and care aids are predominantly females which would make the medical industry the least biased.

References

Huber, Author Jennifer, et al. “Identifying and Addressing Gender Bias in Health Care.” Scope, Logo Left ContentLogo Right Content 10,000+ Posts Scope Stanford University School of Medicine Blog, 7 Mar. 2020, scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/03/09/identifying-and-addressing-gender-bias-in-health-care/. 

Online, Thomas Jefferson University, et al. “Exploring Gender Bias in Healthcare.” MedCity News, 3 Sept. 2019, medcitynews.com/?sponsored_content=exploring-gender-bias-in-healthcare. 

Reiners, Bailey. “What Is Gender Bias In The Workplace?” Built In, builtin.com/diversity-inclusion/gender-bias-in-the-workplace. 

RH. Fazio, JR. Jackson, et al. “Implicit Gender Bias among US Resident Physicians.” BMC Medical Education, BioMed Central, 1 Jan. 1995, bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-019-1818-1. 

Saley, Chad, et al. “Survey Report: Female Doctors Feel Less Respected than Male Counterparts.” CompHealth, 4 Sept. 2019, comphealth.com/resources/survey-report-female-physicians-receive-less-respect-and-more-harassment-than-their-male-counterparts/. 
Wallen, Jack. “10 Examples of Gender Bias You May Encounter in the Workplace.” TechRepublic, TechRepublic, 7 May 2015, www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-examples-of-gender-bias-you-may-encounter-in-the-workplace/.