The missing doctors — An analysis of educated women and female domesticity in Pakistan

Abstract

While the percentage of female students in medical schools in Pakistan is as high as 80–85 per cent, the percentage of female doctors in the medical workforce remains below 50 per cent. Our findings draw on in‐depth interviews with 31 female doctors to show that the reasons behind the gap between female medical students and female medical professionals are multifold and multilayered, ranging from individual reasons to organizational and sociocultural reasons. We use an adapted version of the relational framework developed by Syed and Özbilgin in 2009 to offer a contextual and multilevel understanding of female domesticity in Pakistan. The study suggests that the problem of female doctors dropping out of the medical workforce is a reflection of the interplay of social, organizational and individual factors, which are tied together by social norms. Practical implications suggest that making hospitals and health organizations more inclusive of women and their needs could be a starting point for policymakers to address the gender gap in the medical profession.