Current State and Trends of Gender Differences Among Health Care Personnel in Taiwan

Abstract

<p>本研究旨在探討臺臺灣醫事人員的性別、年齡結構近況，並探討其未來變化趨勢。資料來源為2014年至2021年衛生福利部統計處公布之醫事人員登記資料。結果發現16類師級人員中，護理師女性占比最高(96.17%)，其次為營養師(90.57%)，最低的三類醫事人員則為中醫師(32.77%)、牙醫師(30.09%)、西醫師(21.16%)。上述五類醫事人員的男女比例在這8年都有逐漸平衡的趨勢，惟推估護理師約需184.5年才能達到男女人數相當，醫師則約需30~40年。此年數可作為職系性別平等的一項參考指標，提醒家庭、學校、社會加強男女醫事人員投入醫療工作的自由平等。</p> <p> </p><p> This study explored the gender and age distributions of health care personnel in Taiwan at present and in the future. Data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare for the 2014–2021 period were retrieved from a database containing the registration information of health care personnel. This study discovered that among 16 types of health care personnel, nurses and nutritionists had the highest and second highest proportions of women, respectively (nurses, 96.17%; nutritionists, 90.57%), whereas traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians, dentists, and physicians had the lowest, second lowest, and third lowest proportions of women, respectively (TCM physicians, 32.77%; dentists, 30.09%; physicians, 21.16%). From 2014 to 2021, the gender distribution for these five types of health care personnel gradually became more balanced. However, the time required to achieve gender parity (indicated by the male-to-female ratio) was estimated to be approximately 184.5 years for nurses and approximately 30–40 years for physicians. These numbers of year can serve as references on the state of gender equality in health care professional fields; they also remind families, schools, and the societies to strengthen the gender freedom and equality for male and female to devote in health care professionals.</p> <p> </p>