Duffin, Jacalyn M. (Author)
Stuart, Meryn (Author)
Canadian Bulletin of Medical History/Bulletin Canadienne d'Histoire de la Medecine
Volume: 29, no. 1
Issue: 1
Pages: 83-100
Abstract. In 2009 a Globe and Mail pundit claimed that the current doctor shortage stems from increasing numbers of women in medicine. This opinion is widely held, despite articulate opposition from medical deans who characterized it as a new variant of the old sexist blame game (CMAJ 2008). In this ambivalent climate, we interviewed 10 women who entered the Canadian profession between 1945 and 1960, when strict limits on female students were established in most schools. Using semi-structured, in-person and telephone interviews, we found that they worked as much as their male colleagues. Several also raised three to five children; and negotiation of the domestic sphere usually fell to them. Most worked past age 65, and two are still working well into their eighties. Our findings will be set in the context of the existing literature on women in medicine. We will also examine the results of surveys on physicians' working hours, in which all specialties show a decline, including those that have not been feminized. We conclude that the women who entered the profession between 1945 and 1960 did not contribute to the current doctor shortage. Résumé. En 2009, une journaliste au Globe and Mail a suggéré que la pénurie actuelle de médecins au Canada a ses origines dans la féminisation croissante du corps médical. Cet avis est partagé par beaucoup de gens bien qu'il soit contesté par une opposition savante et bien articulée le présentant comme une nouvelle manifestation du sexisme traditionnel. Dans ce contexte d'ambivalence, nous avons interrogé dix femmes entrées dans la profession entre 1945 et 1960, période pendant laquelle des limites strictes entravaient l'admission des étudiantes féminines. Lors d'entrevues tenues en personne ou par téléphone, nous avons découvert que ces médecins ont travaillé autant que leurs collègues masculins. Plusieurs parmi elles sont de plus devenues mères de famille et maîtresses de maison. La plupart travaillaient encore après l'âge de 65 ans; deux de plus de 80 ans sont toujours engagées dans la clinique. Nos résultats seront analysés à la lumière de la littérature historique sur les femmes en médecine. Nous utiliserons également des enquêtes sur les horaires de travail des médecins, enquêtes qui mettent en évidence un déclin du nombre d'heures dans toutes les spécialités, incluant celles qui n'ont pas été féminisées. Nous concluons que les femmes entrées dans la profession entre 1945 et 1960 n'ont nullement contribué à la pénurie actuelle.
...MoreDescription On the women who entered medicine between 1945 and 1960.
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