RECENT CHANGES OF GENDER RATIO FOR MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN JAPAN AND THE USA

Abstract

Data has been collected on the gender ratios among students and faculty members at medical schools in Japan for the last twenty years and the USA for the last ten years. The percentages of female students to the total students was 19.4% in Japan in 1987 and 33.4% in the USAi n 1988. During the last 10 years, the ratio of female students increased steadily, and reached 30.3% and 42.6% in Japan and the USA, respectively, in 1997. Likewise, the ratio of medical school female faculty has generally increased. This increase was significant in the USA with an approximate increase of 40% in the number at all ranks. The percentage of female faculty at full professor rank, however, remained 10.4% although that of assistant professor rank was 33.5% in 1997. The percentage of female faculty at medical schools in Japan rose only slightly over the past 10 years, remaining at 9.4% for total faculty and 2.8% for full professor level. These data suggest that women are underrepresented at faculty level, despite a significant increase in female medical students