The health professions have long been
characterized by gender disparities. Some professions, such
as medicine and dentistry, have historically been dominated
by males, while others, such as nursing, have been predominantly
female. Over the past several decades, these gaps have narrowed,
and in some cases reversed. In 1980–81, 47.4 percent of
pharmacy students were women, while in the fall of 2005,
women represented more than 64 percent of pharmacy students.
Even in fields where men are still the majority, the representation
of female students has grown. In 1980–81, only 26.5 percent
of medical students were women compared to nearly one-half
(48.8 percent) of students in the fall of 2005. Similar
gains have been made in the fields of osteopathic medicine
and dentistry, where the most recent data indicate that
49.6 and 43.8 percent of students, respectively, were women
compared to only 19.7 and 17.0 percent in 1980–81.
During the 2005–06 academic year, female
students represented a growing majority in graduate schools
of public health (70.6 percent). Similarly, the most recent
data for social work programs indicate that 85.7 percent
of enrolled students were female. Nursing, at both the undergraduate
and graduate levels, also continues to be dominated by women,
although the proportion of students who are female is slowly
declining. In the 1980–81 academic year, 94.3 percent of
nursing students were female, while in the fall of 2005,
females represented 90.7 percent of graduate students in
nursing programs. Women also represent a majority of students
studying optometry (63.1 percent), physical therapy (73.0 percent
in 2004), and dietetics (90.8 percent; data not
shown). Comparative data for these programs are not available
for the 1980–81 academic year.
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Bar Chart: Women in Schools for Selected Health
Professions, 1980-81 and 2005-06
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