Expectations in Roles
There is this myth that women are less capable of being successful than men. Whether individuals have personally experienced it or not, this has been said for generations. For years, women have been viewed as “nurturers,” due to ancient traditional roles and patriarchy. This has led to the expectation that they should fulfill lower-power jobs such as nurses, secretaries, or assistants. And while these roles are important, they are not the limitation. Researchers from the National Institute of Health report that only 26% of women make up representative positions globally, even though they make up 70% of the healthcare workforce, showing the significant difference in the distribution of power (PĂ©rez-Sánchez, 2021).Â
Unequal Distribution of Power
Being a woman in STEM is not easy. To gain the extra letters at the end of your name, such as M.D., PhD., PharmD, etc., you must climb the medical hierarchy, gaining references, connections, and experiences. These come from individuals with already established power. With lower expectations for women to succeed in these career areas, there tend to be fewer opportunities for them. McKinsey and Company state that “only 93 women were promoted to manager-level roles for every 100 men.” They added that this lowers to 74 women if they are of color (McConnell, 2025). As a society, there are attempts to shift away from these biases, but they still prevail in the statistics. There is also a clear perception gap between men and women about equality in career opportunities. Gallup claims that “49% of women, compared with 67% of men, believe that women in the U.S. are treated with respect and dignity” (Ray, 2025).Â
The problems with these expectations are that they are rooted in society and therefore normalized. If the perception gap is not addressed, it can not be worked against. Many struggle with advocacy for equality, leading to ideas of favoritism, but it is finding the balance that allows progress to occur. Women should not have to fight for their place in medicine. Anyone pursuing the career should be respected and given the same chances for succession. The more these ideals are emphasized, the more growth is bound to come.Â
Credibility Issues Leading to Mental Difficulties
Unfortunately, women are not seen with as much authority and credibility as men. This leads to quicker exhaustion and burnout from the constant fear of trying to prove themselves. The Journal of General Medicine compared female physician burnout, at 54 percent, to male physician burnout, at 24 percent (Gold, 2020). Many female physicians struggle with spending more time explaining procedures to patients because they worry that they are not credible enough and need excessive validation. And while patient comprehension and autonomy are essential to their healthcare, the idea that women are less educated has driven many patients to unreasonable accusations. There is this idea that power equals money, but statistically, there are more educated women than men, yet more men obtain higher-paying positions. Many know that the pay gap between women and men is significant, but not everyone knows what that entails. Female physicians, over their entire career, are estimated to earn about 2 million dollars less than male physicians, according to NIH (Whaley, 2021). This is seen through differences in promotions, forcing women to feel like they need to work harder in order to receive the same level of power. Gender discrimination has been shown to lead to anxiety and depression, yet it is often overlooked in a healthcare setting. It is easy to disregard these issues, which have been a common pattern over the years. Women should not feel less capable or qualified based on their gender. Women should not feel fearful of speaking up about these discrepancies when they see them, either. Healthcare should be growing and evolving every day, so understanding the faults within will allow society to renormalize its ideas not only for women, but for any minority or group facing discrimination. To be constantly evolving and gearing towards success, the perspective needs to be reshaped.Â
References
Gold, K. J., Kuznia, A. L., Laurie, A. R., & Williams, C. B. (2020). Gender differences in stress and burnout: Department survey of academic family physicians. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(6), 1811–1813. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-06287-y
McConnell, A. K. D. G. (2025, December 9). Women in the Workplace 2025. Mckinsey.com. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/women-in-the-workplace
Pérez-Sánchez, S., Madueño, S. E., & Montaner, J. (2021). Gender gap in the leadership of health institutions: The influence of hospital-level factors. Health Equity, 5(1), 521–525. https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2021.0013
Ray, J., & Ritter, Z. (2025, March 5). Gender gaps in respect for women worldwide. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/657707/gender-gaps-respect-women-worldwide.aspx
Whaley, C. M., Koo, T., Arora, V. M., Ganguli, I., Gross, N., & Jena, A. B. (2021). Female physicians earn an estimated $2 million less than male physicians over A simulated 40-year career: Study examines estimated career gap in pay between female physicians and male physicians. Health Affairs (Project Hope), 40(12), 1856–1864. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00461