Affirmative Action for men

[kenyaxxx]

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Is it true that some OB/GYN residencies reserve a spot for men?

 

[Black Surgeon]

Is it true that some OB/GYN residencies reserve a spot for men?

Well, the phenomenon I think you are attempting to refer to is what feminist and sociology scholars call "the glass elevator". Research shows that whenever a field becomes predominantly female populated, the few men who enter the field tend to move up and succeed in the said field at much faster and frequent rates. They claim that this is due to gender discrimination, gender social constructions and gender inequalities in the work force.

Even though males still make up the majority of OB/GYNs, the field is fast becoming a predominantly female populated field so according to sociological research and the glass elevator theory, if this trend continues, males entering the field will have higher chances at not only obtaining the best residencies but also at obtaining coveted positions in OB/GYN departments.

The antonymous theory based on research findings is the "glass ceiling" theory in predominantly male populated fields. Women entering these fields have little opportunity for optimal career advancement and often hit an advancement plateau at some point in their career due to the aforementioned gender inequalities.

Edit: I neglected to mention the rebuttals and disagreements between different scholars pertaining to these trends and the different theories associated with them but It's getting sort of late and I'm a little tired so I won't bother.

 

[Black Surgeon]

WOW around 400 views and no responses. Well, Here is a research paper that will probably articulate the "Glass elevator" (also refered to as the "glass escalator") theory better than I can. Enjoy!

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/hdh9/e-reserves/Williams_-_The_glass_escalator_PDF-1.pdf

 

[Pemulis]

Is it true that some OB/GYN residencies reserve a spot for men?

I'll attempt a bit less of an academic/theoretical answer to your question 🙂

Nationally, the trend the past few years has been that about 80% of entering residents are female. At many of the top programs, there are only 2 or 3 male residents out of say 30 or so. For pretty obvious reasons then, male applicants (from what I've been told repeatedly) do get some preferential treatment in the application process. It's not so much that some programs "reserve" a spot for men, as it is that if faced with a choice of two equally qualified applicants, one male and the other female, a lot of programs may rank the male first simply in the hopes of attracting some "diversity" to their program. So in a sense, there is a bit of "affirmative action" for men going into the field.

The bigger question, however, is what sort of opportunities exist for men after residency. This is a topic of a lot of debate, and I still haven't heard a definitive answer on it, but from what at least a few attendings have told me, being a female is still an advantage when applying for a job. For better or worse, medicine is a business, and the customers (i.e. the patients) in Ob/Gyn have an overall preference for female docs. So a practice or hospital looking to hire a new doctor is likely to want to recruit female doctors for the reason that they will fill up with patients more quickly. I'm not saying a man can't make it in the field, but a few male attendings have told me privately that they do feel like they started from a huge disadvantage.

 

[civic4982]

As far as patients have a preference for female or male Ob/Gyns:

I get a lot of anecdotes about males having a disadvantage but have yet to find any studies that have shown a 5-10% preference for men, a 25-30% preference for women, and everyone else inbetween has no preference.

I wrote a short paper recently for my organizational behavior MBA class that had to do with this topic and most of the literature showed the ratios I just mentioned.

I don't know if males get an advantage or not. To do that you would probably have to somehow get everyone's numbers and ratings on their interview and see how it churns out or study the interview requirements of a good cut of institutions. None of that information is openly available but I'm sure would make for a good study.

 

[stonewall22]

As far as patients have a preference for female or male Ob/Gyns:

I get a lot of anecdotes about males having a disadvantage but have yet to find any studies that have shown a 5-10% preference for men, a 25-30% preference for women, and everyone else inbetween has no preference.

I wrote a short paper recently for my organizational behavior MBA class that had to do with this topic and most of the literature showed the ratios I just mentioned.

I don't know if males get an advantage or not. To do that you would probably have to somehow get everyone's numbers and ratings on their interview and see how it churns out or study the interview requirements of a good cut of institutions. None of that information is openly available but I'm sure would make for a good study.

I'm guessing that the higher percentage female residents is due, in large part, because more females are applying for OB/Gyn than males? I think diversity is good, but not for the sake of diversity...let the best candidate win, be it a female, male, black, white, etc...

Lastly, after being in research for quite sometime, typically researchers search for data to support their hypotheses (duh), so if one hypothesizes that most women prefer women OB/Gyn's, then these data could certainly be found, the opposite is also true. So I think most of the studies saying women prefer women or men, or whatever, are difficult to believe.

 

[THP]

I'm guessing that the higher percentage female residents is due, in large part, because more females are applying for OB/Gyn than males?

Holy Crap that's brilliant!

 

[kenyaxxx]

Holy Crap that's brilliant!

 

[civic4982]

Some survey studies have shown that in general male and female medical students both have the perception that the earning capabilities of a female vs. a male practicing ob/gyn are drastically different.

Considering that it's a field of women's health I don't think it's too far of a leap to also assume that the interest is greater for women to join the field.

I feel like crap for not having those papers and authors off hand for you guys right now but I promise I'll follow up once I dig out my paper that I wrote a couple months ago. I'd put my own paper up but it's shamefully poorly written however the studies I found on it were definitely of value.

 

[MichiMO]

I come from a program that is 1/4 male and I can say there is definitly a preference for male applicants. We actively recruit male applicants and given two equal candidates, the guys are certainly ranked higher.

Also, once in residency, I know most of the women feel that the guys do get preferential treatment. They get away with more, have more research opportunities, get to do more difficult cases earlier in residency, and get out of work to go to baseball games and other "bonding" with our attendings, and they just overall have a different relationship with the attendings...get more respect from nurses, ect. It can be frustrating sometimes, but at the same time, it is nice to be in a program with a high proportion of men. Overall, it makes for a lighter, less serious atmospher and generally, if one of my male upper years is pissed at me, it is because I actually screwed up, where I would say complaints about me by my female upper years have more often been about my "personality" than anything to do with my work.

I am completely pro-woman, but having worked in my more balanced program, I definitly like it better.

 

[residencycoord]

The number of male applicants went up this year which was a nice thing to see. We (the program and residents) would like to have some males in the program to mix things up but that is a not in priority in our invitations or rank list. We do not give special treatment to males during the interview season or once they get here. I have read many of these threads regarding male vs female obgyns and I think it is nonsense. The women I know will go to someone who they feel is the best doctor and gender doesn't enter into it. We have just as many males on our faculty as females and they are just as busy if not busier.