[K-Women Talk] Dreaming of a World Without Discrimination in the Medical Field

원본보기 아이콘

On the first Saturday of April, I boarded a high-speed train bound for Gwangju. Upon arriving at the station, Mr. P, a representative of a mid-sized bio company and the regional president of the Korean Women Doctors Association, warmly welcomed me. We discussed the direction and progress of the hybrid academic conference hosted by the central association and organized by the local chapter, then headed to a restaurant by Uncheon Reservoir, where cherry blossoms were in full bloom. S, a third-year medical student and scholarship recipient of the Korean Women Doctors Association, came over and greeted me politely.

Looking into the bright eyes of this young junior, I recalled why I wanted to become a doctor and what kind of doctor I aspired to be. Fifty to sixty years ago, in the difficult post-war era when everyone struggled to survive, I wanted to live independently and confidently, economically separate from men. Gilbert, the boyfriend and husband of "Anne of Green Gables," was a doctor, and Andrew from "The Stronghold," who found his true path as a doctor amid adversity, and Ravic, the outstanding surgeon from "The Arch of Triumph," were characters who moved dynamically through novels. I wanted to follow them. I dreamed of becoming a neighborhood doctor like a great elder who treated the poor for free and listened to the concerns of the entire village. Although it may not be exactly as I once dreamed, I still believe that listening to the sick, honing my skills throughout my life to prevent them from rusting, and living as a true doctor remain precious values.

When I asked my junior if she had ever felt discriminated against while attending school, she said she was not sure so far. Times have changed, so it is natural and fortunate that things are different now. My thoughts went back to the past. It was during the senior year, the graduation year. After graduation, everyone wanted to go through an internship at the university hospital. Suddenly, we were notified that the university hospital internship recruitment guidelines would be changed. Once the overall competition rate was set, male and female students would be recruited separately according to their respective competition rates. It was openly declared that since female students had better grades, having too many of them was considered a problem. It felt like a solid wall blocking the way, unresponsive to our knocks. Our female classmates gathered and decided to seek out senior female alumni to collect signatures protesting the recruitment guidelines. At that time, there were only about ten senior female alumni active in the country, and we visited each of their workplaces to get their signatures. Ultimately, it took such efforts for the hospital to change the recruitment guidelines and for all female students to achieve the desired outcome.

From the perspective of gender equality, much has improved compared to the past. More than one in three medical school entrants are female, and female doctors now make up just over one in four of all doctors. The number of female doctors, which was 3,000 in 1980, has increased more than elevenfold to 34,000, and the female doctor share, which was 13.6%, has nearly doubled. However, data shows that in 2021, South Korea's gender gap index was very low, especially ranking 123rd in economic gender gap. The proportion of women in senior executive and managerial positions was only 15.7%, ranking 134th globally. The gender wage gap was also 31.5%, the worst among developed countries.

Is gender equality truly realized because one is a doctor or a professional? No. The proportion of women in medical organizations, hospital and university leadership, and key positions remains very low, and the situation appears even worse moving from metropolitan areas to provinces. Qualitative changes are needed in the medical field as well to achieve genuine gender equality. I hope S will not suffer disadvantages simply because she is a woman as she grows. I hope she recognizes the discrimination caused by unconscious biases we hold and helps create a better world.

Baek Hyun-wook, President of the Korean Women Doctors Association

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