Article in Norwegian.
Abstract (not available on Pubmed):
In spite of considerable influx of women into medicine over the past decades, physicians` choice of speciality is still heavily gendered: only 4% of Norwegian surgeons are women, as compared with 53% of child psychiatrists. The paper discusses the physicians` perception of why this is so.
Although many physicians considered women particulary suited for psychiatry and family medicine, few physicians explained the scarcity of female surgeons on the basis of women`s unsuitability for surgical work. The most widespread explanation of gender differences in specialization was that female physicians will find it more difficult to fulfil family obligations in some jobs than in others. Organizational factors were also considered to influence choice of speciality - particulary by female physicians and by psychiatrists of both sexes. Male surgeons, however, did not believe such factors important.
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