2023-10-27 01:06:09
Each October 23 commemorates the doctor’s day In Mexico, this date was established in 1937 during the convention of confederated medical unions of the republic in tribute to Dr. Valentín Gómez Farías, who in 1833 inaugurated the establishment of medical sciences in Mexico City, said establishment is a precursor of the Faculty of Medicine.
Ana Carolina Sepúlveda Vildósola, academic at the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and treasurer of the National Academy of Medicine, explains in an interview the panorama of the medical women.
When asking the academic from the highest house of studies regarding the challenges that women doctors in Mexico face, her response is clear:
“Despite some advances in recent years, women doctors face:
Inequality of opportunities. Although more women As they graduate from medical and doctoral schools, the opportunities for obtaining academic positions are much lower. The women We have fewer opportunities to have national or international mobility, to have intersectoral collaborations, to receive funding for research, to participate in academic and/or scientific committees, to be invited as speakers or to be promoted to management positions, as well as to be first author in a scientific publication,” explains Ana Carolina Sepúlveda.
Dr. Ana Carolina Sepúlveda
And it adds other problems that women face. women dedicated to the medicine:
“One of the main problems is that women receive a lower salary, between 20-40% less than their male counterparts, many times because we have to adapt work activities according to family responsibilities, we do not face shared responsibilities. The androcentric gender order assumes that household responsibilities fall on the woman, which causes a delay in her professional development mainly during the years of motherhood. Another problem is harassment (work and sexual), discrimination and micro-machismo (comments and actions that are often normalized by society but that affect the trajectories and self-esteem of women). women)”.
Gender parity has not been achieved in medicine
When asked if gender parity has been achieved in the academic and research area and women have more publications or high academic positions, Ana Carolina Sepúlveda pointed out that although there is progress, parity has not yet been achieved in either of the two. areas.
“For example, in the national system of researchers, according to 2020 data, only 38% of researchers are women, and there is a difference by area of knowledge and level of qualification (the higher the level, the lower the number of women). Regarding women who have obtained the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology, only 13 of the 220 winners have been women, and if we talk regarding the National College, only 6 women have entered out of 111 members (3 in the scientific area)” .
Dr. Ana Carolina Sepúlveda
The research has the following data: “In the National Academy of Medicine, only 22% of us are women and there has only been one female president in 159 years. Regarding leadership positions, although they have been increasing, they are limited to mid-level leadership, with little representation in high-level decision-making. Another example is that in 199 years (since the modern history of the UNAM Faculty of Medicine was established), there has never been a female director even though 48% of the academic staff is female,” explains Sepúlveda Vildósola.
“Women have fewer scientific publications (due to editor selection biases), even though their publications achieve the same or greater number of citations than their male peers. It is common for women not to be listed as main or corresponding authors in a scientific publication,” mentions the academic from the UNAM Faculty of Medicine.
What does it mean to be a women Dedicated to medicine in Mexico?
“A great satisfaction and a challenge. I feel very satisfied with my achievements and having participated in opening doors for others. womenas well as being part of the group of women that works to raise awareness in the community regarding the need to generate change, eliminate stereotypes and transform spaces,” shares the doctor.
Dr. Ana Carolina Sepúlveda
In the UNAM enrollment regarding medical students on the Ciudad Universitaria campus, there are a total of 12,622 undergraduates enrolled, of which 3,952 are men and 8,670 women (68.7%). In the postgraduate program in the 2022-2023 academic year there are a total of 13,562 residents, of which 7,401 are women (54.57%) and 6,161 are men (45.43%).
Mexico currently has 2.4 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, below the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development which is 3.5, but it is similar to countries such as Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with barely one increase of 0.51 since 2006.
1698395802
#women #graduating #medicine #job #opportunities
