Women’s contribution to healthcare is gradually becoming the spotlight as a result of their remarkable service and support over the past decades. According to the reports concluded in 2023. women make up 90 percent of the global healthcare workforce, yet only 25 percent of leadership roles are dominated by women. That’s why, in 2024, it is the perfect era to shun this imbalance by entrusting women with responsibilities and progress in healthcare. 

If we are to provide an insight into the female health professionals’ contribution to the workforce globally, in Australia, 79% of the social and healthcare workforce is female, while in the United States, it is 78.4%. It is to be noted that this female workforce is disproportionally divided into various sectors, as in the United Kingdom, nearly 89.4% of the midwifery and nursing workforce is female, and in Canada 41% of physicians are female while in the United States, the female nurse percentage is 93, and in Australia, one third of general practitioners are female. Moreover, in Australia, a large sector of healthcare is populated with nursing and midwifery, with around 450,000 registered nurses and midwives in 2020, according to records the by Australian Health Practitioner RegulationAgency (AHPRA). 88% of nurses are categorized as female nurses.

Even though it’s a good aspect that women are contributing as much as or more than the male workforce in the healthcare professions, the question of why women fell behind in leadership and equity is still controversial. There could be several reasons and limitations to this question, and let’s explore the evident limitations based on the Australian context.

Australian Clinical Guideline Practice Panels: Female representation

According to a study conducted between 2010 and 2020 on the representation of women in clinical guideline practice panels in Australia, women’s involvement in guideline panels is underrepresented compared to their majority in the workforce. The expected balanced gender composition seems to be unachieved, and the authorities are in need of enhancing the efficiency of women’s participation in healthcare decision making.

Struggle between family and work -life

 As mentioned in the introduction, the percentage of female doctors is rising rapidly in Australia, and the topic of gender diversity is being discussed within communities. Yet, the above-mentioned underrepresentation of women in decision making and leadership roles is limited by the restrictions of gender-based discrimination, career responsibilities, family roles, and maternity leaves. The interrelation between the lack of contribution in leadership roles and the diminished influence on addressing women’s issues may have resulted in the stagnation of women’s involvement in healthcare.

Women in healthcare are getting paid 24% less than men

According to a global analysis joint report issued by the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization, women in healthcare earn on average 24% less than men. This indescribable matter of paid inequality stays unaddressed, especially among female GPs. There might be underlying causes for this, such as female GPs taking more time to discuss patients' conditions, including their mental health, or GPs leaving their careers mid-way for family reasons and not returning to their positions

Gender Segregation

Gender segregation is simply deciding whether something is female or male dominant. Gender segregation due to various economic, cultural, social, historical, and individual factors may be a reason to keep women away from certain career opportunities in healthcare. 

If the women who are pursuing healthcare careers are challenged with the above-mentioned difficulties and leave mid-career, there might be a greater risk of decreasing the women’s contribution and threatening the progress of future opportunities for women in healthcare.

To address the above-mentioned and many more issues, one of the best options seems to be opening more opportunities for the female healthcare workforce to engage in sectors like policymaking and guideline panels. Moreover, this can empower the 2024 Women’s Day theme “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress," which simply suggests that women are capable and the community can rely on their manner in making progress. Recommendations and guidelines focused on gender equity and the compatibility of individuals in healthcare can be achieved with the transparency of gender composition in authority panels.

Healthcare can benefit from levelling up female contribution, for example, female researchers and authors are more inclined towards addressing gender and sex-based problems in their work, inventing new strategies and theories that can be used for the betterment of healthcare. And

If the situation is like this, should women be scared, as expected, of joining the healthcare workforce? Absolutely not. Your gender means nothing when it comes to your capabilities. As Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) Chief Executive Melinda Cilento said, “People of any gender should be able to do the job they’re most suited for and most interested in." Your gender can’t decide who you will become. That’s why in 2024, Women’s Day theme is dedicated to your diligence and its progression. 

Thinking of where to start your career in healthcare in Australia? Don’t worry! Medfuture is here to support you. We are a medical and healthcare recruitment company in Australia, attracting a diverse count of professionals to their rightful career placements. Our dedicated recruitment team will guide you towards new career opportunities and uncover you in a potential career market, which will finally lead to a stable and rewarding professional placement.  Explore career opportunities in healthcare with Medfuture.

Or, contact us to make a difference in Australian healthcare  apply@themedfuture.com