He said, “Why don’t you make me tea in the morning?”: a qualitative study of career building inhibitors and promotors for Japanese female physicians promoted to chief professors in medical schools

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There are marked gender disparities in physicians’ academic careers in Japan, and only 4.7% of chief professors in medical departments are women. This qualitative study aimed to identify career-building inhibitors and facilitators for Japanese female physicians who were promoted to the position of chief professor in a medical school. We analyzed interview data obtained during 2019 and 2020 from four Japanese female chief professors in medical schools using Steps for Coding and Theorization. Participants held strong attitudes toward job retention upon graduation, which was previously reported to support career development among women in management positions in large Japanese companies. However, unlike the previous report, our participants did not expect their spouses’ cooperation, and their organizations did not allow for adjustment of working hours or evaluation systems that nurtured women. Other identified disincentives included workplace gender issues, performance jealousy from coworkers, singlism, and glass ceilings. Participants overcame these disincentives through self-directed transfers and career changes. Factors that facilitated career building included the presence of same-sex role models without gender bias, expectations from participants’ fathers, mentoring and sponsorship by male supervisors without gender bias, and early career success. After becoming chief professors, participants were involved in supporting female physicians. They used their own experiences to create an ideal work environment with a sense of fit for females and applied measures to prevent burnout in themselves and their subordinates. The fact that participants continued to promote their careers based on their own abilities offers encouragement for other females.