The UK has reached a historic milestone in the medical profession. For the first time, there are More Women Doctors Than Men doctors practising across the four home nations.
According to the General Medical Council (GMC), as of 28 February, 164,440 female doctors were licensed to practise medicine, compared to 164,195 male doctors.
Women now make up 50.04% of the UK’s medical workforce, with men at 49.96%. This shift marks a significant transformation in a field that was once overwhelmingly male-dominated.
A Long Journey to Equality
The change in the gender makeup of the medical profession is remarkable, considering its historical context. When the first British medical register was created in 1858, it contained just one female doctor: Elizabeth Blackwell, an American. At that time, no British woman had the necessary medical degree to be included in the register.
The first British woman to join the medical register was Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in 1865. She had to overcome substantial opposition and prejudice within the profession.
Despite obtaining her degree in Paris after being rejected by British medical schools, she initially faced resistance from the UK’s medical establishment, which refused to recognise her qualification. It was only in 1876 that British women were officially allowed to enter the profession.
Since then, women in medicine have had to endure bias, lower pay, and discrimination, making this recent milestone all the more significant.
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Dr Claudia Paoloni, a consultant anaesthetist and vice-president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), emphasised the importance of this moment, stating that women had to “endure bias, harassment, lower pay and often made huge sacrifices within their maternal and family lives” to earn their rightful place in the profession.
Changes in Medical Demographics
The shift towards a female-majority medical workforce aligns with broader demographic trends in the UK. Women constitute 50.7% of the population, and their increasing representation in medicine reflects a movement toward greater gender parity in highly skilled professions.
Professor Dame Carrie MacEwen, chair of the GMC and a consultant ophthalmologist, highlighted that this demographic shift would benefit patients by ensuring greater diversity within the medical field.
Although women now outnumber men overall in the profession, their distribution across medical specialties is uneven. Female doctors are the majority in fields such as obstetrics and gynaecology (63%), paediatrics (61%), and general practice (58%).
However, they remain significantly underrepresented in surgery (17%), ophthalmology (35%), and emergency medicine (37%). The reasons behind these disparities are complex and linked to historical barriers, workplace culture, and gender norms within different medical fields.
Dr Latifa Patel, chair of the British Medical Association’s representative body, stressed the need to examine why certain medical specialties remain male-dominated. She noted that disparities in gender representation could affect career progression and patient care, as all patients should have access to doctors of both genders in all fields of medicine.
Challenges and the Road Ahead
Despite this significant milestone, female doctors still face many challenges in the medical profession. Gender disparities persist in areas such as pay, career advancement, and workplace culture.
Women doctors often face difficulties in achieving leadership positions, balancing family responsibilities with demanding work schedules, and overcoming biases that persist in the profession.
One of the most pressing concerns is the gender pay gap. Studies have shown that female doctors tend to earn less than their male counterparts, even when accounting for experience and hours worked. Many women also report difficulties in securing flexible working arrangements, which can make it challenging to balance their careers with family life.
Sexual harassment in the medical field remains another significant issue. A survey conducted by the HCSA found that four in five female doctors had experienced sexual harassment, often from colleagues.
Incidents included inappropriate comments about their appearance, dress, or body, unwanted physical contact, and being subjected to sexual jokes or stories. Dr Paoloni called for stronger measures to address these issues, emphasising the need to confront workplace harassment and ensure a safer, more supportive environment for women in medicine.
Another factor influencing gender disparities in medicine is the difficulty of combining medical careers with childcare responsibilities. Many women struggle to find adequate support and flexible working conditions, leading some to opt for part-time work or leave the profession altogether.
Addressing these challenges requires proactive policies that enable women to continue advancing in their careers without being forced to make disproportionate personal sacrifices.
The UK’s medical workforce has also seen significant changes in ethnic diversity. In November, the GMC reported that the number of ethnic minority doctors had surpassed the number of white doctors in the country.
Between 2016 and 2023, the number of ethnic minority doctors increased by 78%, nearly eight times the 10% growth in the number of white doctors. This trend has been driven, in part, by the recruitment of doctors from countries such as India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Nigeria in the years following Brexit.
As the medical profession continues to evolve, it is essential to address ongoing gender and diversity challenges. Ensuring that women doctors receive equal opportunities, fair pay, and protection from workplace discrimination will be crucial in building a more inclusive and effective healthcare system.
While the milestone of having more female than male doctors is a significant achievement, the fight for true gender equality in medicine is far from over.
This historic shift marks a turning point in the medical profession, but continued efforts are needed to ensure that all doctors, regardless of gender, can thrive in their careers while providing the best possible care to patients.
The UK’s healthcare system must adapt to these changing demographics by fostering a more equitable, inclusive, and supportive environment for all its medical professionals.
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