Why there are specialities that are more common between men like surgery, orthopedy , anesthesiology?

Question

I wonder why because like more than 80 of these people are men

Is it sexist?

Answer 1

It used to be a man's world in the medical field. Many women are joining the force as anesthesiologists, doctors, and surgeons. Society has changed. Traditions have changed. Years ago it was customary for women to stay home and raise babies, while the man was the bread winner. Women were not even allowed to vote! Women have evolved greatly over the years. They have become multi-taskers, juggling family and work and whatever else comes their way. Medicine doesn't discriminate in regard to the specialties women practice in. When doctors in training are in residency they decide which specialty they would like to go in to. Some do go into orthopedics. Many go into anesthesia, and some prefer general surgery or internal medicine, etc. Women do have a choice. That there are more men is simply because a fewer number of women apply to medical school.

Answer 2

No, I think that it has more to do with society.  I think that society pushes males toward disciplines like math, science, medicine, etc.  At the same time, society also pushes females away from these disciplines.

Welcome to America!

Answer 3

A lot of women feel that the years of studying and long work days make it too much of a challenge to raise a family. So many women would rather be homemakers or work in a less demanding field and spend more time with their kids. Having time for a family seems like the antithesis of practicing medicine but it isn't necessarily a one or the other situation.

I disagree about math and science being pushed on boys more than girls in their formative years. In college, my calculus classes were disproportionately female. One semester, there were 21 girls and 2 guys. My science courses were fairly well balanced as far as the gender distribution went. Perhaps in previous generations things were different but I know about a dozen female physicians who are well into their 50s and 60s (one has three kids, another is my mother). Even my grandmother went to medical school in the 1930s and went on to have two kids in the 40s.

I believe the issue is more about having time for your family as a working female physician. Babies are a demanding bunch and pregnancy is not easy in the first place. Other than the time commitment, I can't explain why the gender disparity exists. The gap is certainly closing but medicine is still more of a boy's club than anything else.