TY - JOUR
T1 - Physician mothers' experience of workplace discrimination
T2 - A qualitative analysis
AU - Linos, Eleni
AU - Halley, Meghan C.
AU - Rustagi, Alison S.
AU - Torres, Jeanette S.
AU - Linos, Elizabeth
AU - Plaut, Victoria
AU - Mangurian, Christina
AU - Choo, Esther
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: Eleni L is supported by the National Cancer Institute (grant No R21CA212201, the National Institute of Aging (grant K76AGO54631), and the National Institute of Health (grant DP2CA225433); VP is supported by NSF #1535435; and CM is supported by grants K23MH093689, R01MH112420, and R03DK101857.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Objectives To report woman physicians' experiences, in their own words, of discrimination based on their role as a mother. Design Qualitative analysis of physician mothers' free-Text responses to the open question: "We want to hear your story and experience. Please share" included in questions about workplace discrimination. Three analysts iteratively formulated a structured codebook, then applied codes after inter-coder reliability scores indicated high concordance. The relationships among themes and sub-Themes were organized into a conceptual model illustrated by exemplary quotes. Participants Respondents to an anonymous, voluntary online survey about the health and wellbeing of physician mothers posted on a Facebook group, the Physician Moms Group, an online community of US physicians who identify as mothers. Results We analyzed 947 free-Text responses. Participants provide diverse and vivid descriptions of experiences of maternal discrimination. Gendered job expectations, financial inequalities (including lower pay than equally qualified colleagues and more unpaid work), limited opportunities for advancement, lack of support during the pregnancy and postpartum period, and challenging work-life balance are some of the key themes identified. In addition, participants' quotes show several potential structural drivers of maternal discrimination and describe the downstream consequences of maternal discrimination on the physician herself, her career, family, and the healthcare system. Conclusions These findings provide a view of maternal discrimination directly from the perspective of those who experience it. Women physicians report a range of previously uncharacterized ways in which they experience maternal discrimination. While certain aspects of these experiences are consistent with those reported by women across other professions, there are unique aspects of medical training and the medical profession that perpetuate maternal discrimination.
AB - Objectives To report woman physicians' experiences, in their own words, of discrimination based on their role as a mother. Design Qualitative analysis of physician mothers' free-Text responses to the open question: "We want to hear your story and experience. Please share" included in questions about workplace discrimination. Three analysts iteratively formulated a structured codebook, then applied codes after inter-coder reliability scores indicated high concordance. The relationships among themes and sub-Themes were organized into a conceptual model illustrated by exemplary quotes. Participants Respondents to an anonymous, voluntary online survey about the health and wellbeing of physician mothers posted on a Facebook group, the Physician Moms Group, an online community of US physicians who identify as mothers. Results We analyzed 947 free-Text responses. Participants provide diverse and vivid descriptions of experiences of maternal discrimination. Gendered job expectations, financial inequalities (including lower pay than equally qualified colleagues and more unpaid work), limited opportunities for advancement, lack of support during the pregnancy and postpartum period, and challenging work-life balance are some of the key themes identified. In addition, participants' quotes show several potential structural drivers of maternal discrimination and describe the downstream consequences of maternal discrimination on the physician herself, her career, family, and the healthcare system. Conclusions These findings provide a view of maternal discrimination directly from the perspective of those who experience it. Women physicians report a range of previously uncharacterized ways in which they experience maternal discrimination. While certain aspects of these experiences are consistent with those reported by women across other professions, there are unique aspects of medical training and the medical profession that perpetuate maternal discrimination.
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U2 - 10.1136/bmj.k4926
DO - 10.1136/bmj.k4926
M3 - Article
C2 - 30541926
AN - SCOPUS:85058553096
SN - 0267-0623
VL - 363
JO - BMJ (Online)
JF - BMJ (Online)
M1 - k4926
ER -