Female enrollment in colleges of osteopathic medicine: Five years and five percentage points behind

Abstract

An estimated one fifth of graduates of the colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) before 1910 were women. However, the proportion of women declined after 1900, so that by 1969, less than 3% of osteopathic medical students were women. Dramatic gains have been made in the past 25 years: for the 1993-1994 academic year, women made up 35% of all osteopathic medical students. Although these gains seem impressive, allopathic medical school enrollment comprised 40% women during the same academic year (5 percentage points higher than in osteopathic medical schools). Allopathic medical schools have had significantly more women enrolled every year between academic years 1969-1970 and 1993-1994. In academic year 1988-1989, allopathic medical schools already had an enrollment that consisted of 35% female students, a percentage that COMs would first reach 5 years later. Based on these findings, enrollment of women in COMs is 5 years and 5 percentage points behind that of allopathic medical schools.