UK has more women doctors than men for the first time
There has been a vast demographic change in the medical register since it first opened in 1859.
The UK has more women doctors than men for the first time, according to new figures.
While there are differences across the four nations, the UK’s medical regulator said the number of women on its register has surpassed men for the first time.
The General Medical Council (GMC) said there are 164,440 women registered with a licence to practise, compared with 164,195 men.
This means women make up 50.04% of the medical register.
The GMC has released a stark graph showing the gender split over time, with hardly any female doctors when the medical register first opened in 1859.
The figure remained static for decades until it started creeping up from the turn of the century.
There was a rapid increase in the number of women doctors on the register from the 1970s, which has now led to more female doctors than men on the UK register.
The GMC said one of the driving factors has been more women joining medical schools in the UK.
Since 2018/19, there have been more female than male medical students in all four UK countries, the regulator said.
More women than men work as doctors in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with fewer female doctors in England and Wales.
The split across the UK is: Scotland (54.8% female, 45.2% male); Northern Ireland (53.5% female, 46.5% male); England (49.7% female, 50.3% male); and Wales (47.3% female, 52.7% male).
The medical specialties with the most women doctors are obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics.
The GMC said there are also more female GPs in the UK, with 57.7% of the workforce made up of female doctors.
The specialties with the lowest proportion of women are surgery, ophthalmology and emergency medicine.
The GMC, British Medical Association (BMA) and Medical Women’s Federation (MWF) have called for healthcare leaders to consider the changing demographics of the medical workforce.
The regulator highlighted figures from its training survey about discrimination in the workplace, with 9% of women reporting unwelcome sexual comments, or advances causing embarrassment, distress or offence, compared with just 4% of men.
Professor Dame Carrie MacEwen, chairwoman of the GMC and a consultant ophthalmologist, said: “This is a significant milestone. The demographics of the medical workforce are rapidly changing, and that diversity will benefit patients.
“It is vital that every doctor is valued, irrespective of their gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic.
“But women training for careers in medicine continue to face challenges that must be acknowledged and tackled.
“And for those women already working as doctors there is still work to do to create supportive and inclusive workplaces, and to ensure they have access to progression opportunities, including leadership roles, so that they can have long and fulfilling careers in medicine.”
Dr Latifa Patel, chairwoman of the BMA Representative Body, said: “To have more female than male doctors in the UK is a significant milestone for the profession and for patients.
“Retaining women doctors in the workplace, in the NHS, and happy and fulfilled in their roles, must be a priority.”
Professor Scarlett McNally, president of the Medical Women’s Federation and a surgeon, said: “This huge change should be celebrated.”
