Female Professors in Japanese Medical Schools

The Present Situation and an Analysis of Questionnaires

Abstract

A questionnaire study was carried out from September through December 1998 to clarify the sex distribution of professorships at Japanese medical schools. Sixty-four (1.7%) professors in 32 medical schools were women. Thirty-five female professors had graduated from national and prefectural medical schools, and 29 had graduated from private medical schools. Twenty professors had careers in basic medical research, 8 in public health, and 36 in clinical medicine. Forty-seven (73.4%) of 64 female professors responded to the mailed questionnaires, and 18 had been promoted in the last 5 years. Although more than half of the female professors faced disadvantages because of their gender, many were fully supported by their supervisors or their families or both. The number of female professors reflects the status of female medical doctors.