Topics: employment, gender gap, gender pay gap, healthcare <\/p>\n
THE number of women in health care may be increasing, but higher roles remain out of reach with only a third of doctors and dentists being female. <\/p>\n
Data on Australia's dental workforce released last week revealed women make up 37% of dentists, compared to 95% of dental hygienists. <\/p>\n
Similar numbers were reported back in 2006, when women made up 36% of all medical practitioners compared with 99% of midwives. <\/p>\n
Institute of Health and Welfare spokesman Dr Adrian Webster said the gradual breakdown in gender stereotypes was repeated across a range of industries. <\/p>\n
\"It's something we're seeing across the board in different health professions, GP, specialists, and more broadly across other professions outside health care system where they were traditionally male dominated,\" he said. <\/p>\n
Gladstone Women's Health Centre manager Sandy Prizeman said the gap between men and women in health care professions was reflective of a social attitude. <\/p>\n
\"I think we have a social stigma that women are not quite equal to men,\" she said. <\/p>\n
\"If you work in healthcare, typically you'd be a midwife, but the reality is you could be the doctor delivering the baby, or the midwife in charge.\" <\/p>\n
However figures are improving slowly with a 2% rise in the number of female dentists from 2011 to 2012. <\/p>\n
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Women still hitting the glass ceiling in health care jobs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Topics: employment, gender gap, gender pay gap, healthcare THE number of women in health care may be increasing, but higher roles remain out of reach with only a third of doctors and dentists being female. Continue reading