Gender Inequality Among Hospital and University Practitioners in France in 2020: Where Have We Been and Where are We Now?

Abstract

Backgrounds: Women are under-represented in senior academic and hospital positions in many countries. We aim to assess the place and the evolution of tenured female and male health practitioners’ working in French public Hospitals. Methods: Data of this observational study were collected from the National Management Centre (Centre National de Gestion) up to January 1, 2020. First, we describe demographic characteristics and specialties of all tenured medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry doctors’ working as Hospital Practitioners, Associate Professors, and Full Professors in French General and University-affiliated Hospitals in 2020. Then, we report the annual incidence of new entrance according to gender and professional status from 1999 to 2019. Findings: In 2020, 51 401 health practitioners (49·7% of female) are in activity in French public hospitals. Women represent 52·5% of the Hospital Practitioners, 48·6% of the Associate Professors, and 22·0% of the Full Professors. There are disparities between the rates of female Full Professors in medicine (20·6%), pharmacy (36·1%), and dentistry (44·3%). Women are nominated Hospital Practitioners earlier than men (37·1 versus 38·8 years), at a similar age among Associate Professors (36·1 versus 36·5 years), and at a later age among Full Professors (43·7 versus 41·9 years). Compared to men, the annual rates of appointed women varied between 1999 and 2019 from 47·6% to 60·4% for Hospital Practitioners, from 50·0% to 44·6% for Associate Professors, and from 11·2% to 33·3% for Full Professors. Interpretation: Although hospitals are becoming more and more feminised, there is still a gender gap to access the Full Professors status in medicine and pharmacy, but not in Dentistry. Despite a trend towards, gender equality has not yet been achieved regarding access to the highest positions. Funding Statement: None. Declaration of Interests: ALB, NA, CV, BH, FL, BL, MBM, AB, and JSA declare no competing interests.