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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 7
Publication Date: July 25, 2023
DOI:10.14738/assrj.107.14954.
Tafo, G. N. N., Diarra, Y., & Traoré, S. T. (2023). Female Physicians and Professional Careers. Advances in Social Sciences Research
Journal, 10(7). 49-55.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Female Physicians and Professional Careers
Ghislaine Neuilly Ngniee Tafo
ENT and Head and Neck Surgery Unit in
Reference Health Center of Area I in Bamako/ Mali
Yaye Diarra
Advice to support in the Truth,
Justice and Reconciliation Commission in Bamako/Mali
Seydou Tidiane Traore
Health Department in Non-Governmental Organisation
« Terre des hommes Lausanne » in Bamako/Mali
ABSTRACT
Since Peseshet, the first known female physician in the world, the number of female
physicians has not stopped growing. In USA, they represent 36,3% of practicing
physicians, while in Mali, they represent only 16%. Unfortunately, female
physicians are still under-represented in the highest positions of the medical
hierarchy. It is often found that family responsibilities, can have an impact on their
careers. Our objective was to determine the conditions of practice of women
physicians as well as their perception on the evolution of their career. To achieve
this goal, we conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study on a sample of 123
Malian women physicians obtained by a survey form. We were able to observe that
only 34.18% of female physicians were specialists, only 14% of teaching and
research positions are held by women, and this percentage decreases as one moves
up the ranks. The majority 97.6% have professional ambitions. 12.2% do not feel
encouraged to do so, mainly by their families. 78.9% are not satisfied with their
working conditions and almost half, 45.5%, have felt discriminated against in favor
of their male colleagues. 25.2% have already been harassed morally/physically,
mainly (67.7%) by their male colleague. The difficulties are such that 26.5% are
considering changing their professional path. The results show that although the
number of women doctors is increasing over time, they still have various difficulties
in reaching the top of the hierarchy, although they overwhelmingly express the
desire for professional progression.
Keywords: female physicians, career, condition of practice, professional path
INTRODUCTION
Since Peseshet (4th Egyptian dynasty), the first known woman doctor in the world, through
Agnodice (350 BC), Elizabeth Blackwell, Madeleine Brest (19th century) [1,2,3], or Sacko Diaka
Diawara (1969, Mali) [4], the number of women doctors has not stopped growing. In France,
they represent 44% of practicing physicians, in the USA in 2019: 36.3% [5] while in Mali, they
represent only 16% of them. This is nevertheless an improvement compared to 1969, the year
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 10, Issue 7, July-2023
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
the medical school was created, when there were no female doctors. In Mali, an association of
women doctors was created in 2014 after AFMED, joining the Medical Women International
Association in 2014, initially bringing together a dozen women doctors uniting to better make
themselves heard and better define their role. This association is still active to this day,
testifying to an ever present need to be heard and recognized. The quality of work provided by
women physicians is in no way inferior to that of their opposite sex colleagues. Unfortunately,
in most countries in the West, Asia and Africa, female physicians are still underrepresented at
the highest levels of the medical hierarchy and in the most prestigious specialties [6,7,8].
Several factors can have an impact on their choice and career plan, in particular the conditions
of practice strongly influenced by variations in the structure of opportunities in the different
specialties.
Our objective was therefore to determine the conditions of practice and their impact on the
careers of women physicians in Mali, an African country.
METHODOLOGY
This was a prospective, cross-sectional study. The sample size was 123 female physicians aged
24 to 65 years practicing in Mali.
The eligibility criteria were being a female physician practicing in Mali. The information was
obtained from a survey form (google form) distributed online to professional groups of
physicians including female physicians, collected between November 2021 to April 2022 then
registered on tables by the google forms system and then analyzed.
The variables studied and results we wanted to obtain were sociodemographics, sector of
activity, being specialists or not (generalist), level of responsability, academic position,
potential carreer barriers and their impact, being harassed, type of harrassement, job
satisfaction.
This data was obtained by using multiple choice and open-ended questions. The anonymity of
the responses was respected.
RESULTS
One hundred and thirty (130) women accessed the form but only 123 female physicians
participated, representing 12.91% of all female physicians in Mali, coming from different
sectors of activity: private and public, with a slight predominance of the public sector (51.22%).
The majority of the participants were between 36 and 45 years old (48.78%) followed by [26-
35 years old] (36.59%) (Table I).
Table I: Distribution by age
Age Number Percentage
[18-25] 1 0,81
[26-35] 45 36,59
[36-45] 60 48,78
[46-60] 16 13,01
60 and plus 1 0,81
Total 123 100
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Tafo, G. N. N., Diarra, Y., & Traoré, S. T. (2023). Female Physicians and Professional Careers. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(7).
49-55.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.107.14954
18.34% were specialists, 63.51% were generalists and the remaining 18.15% were in the
process of specialization.
The majority were civil servants (35.8%), 71.5% were not satisfied with their salary
compensation, 0.02% were undecided.
Regarding positions of responsibility: Only 38.2% of the participants in our series had a
position of responsibility, of which 13.8% had an academic position, 92.7% thought they
deserved their position. Seventy-seven percent of the female physicians did not feel valued in
their work.
97.6% had professional ambitions, 87.8% felt encouraged to do so mainly by their family
(62%), followed by their superiors (24%).
When asked if your family is a barrier to your career, 26% answered yes. The main obstacle
was children (46%), followed by familly in-laws/spouses (32.4%) (Table II).
Table II: Distribution by carrer barriers
Carrer barriers Number Percentage (%)
Children 17 45,9
Family in law 9 24,3
Spouse 3 8,1
Family 3 8,1
Autres 5 13,5
Total 37 100
45.5% felt discriminated against in favor of their male colleague. 25.2% had already been
harassed morally and/or physically, mostly (68%) by their male colleague, 9% by their female
colleague.
79% were not satisfied with their working conditions and 26.5% were considering a career
change.
DISCUSSION
Our study recorded 123 participants, 13% of the female physicians in the country [9], from
different sectors of activity (public and private) with a slight predominance of the public sector
(51.22%), which remains the largest employer in the medical sector in our country despite the
economic situation.
In our series, 86.2% were under 45 years of age, and those over 55 years of age represented
only 3.25%, a relatively young population compared to the OECD data, which counted between
15 and 55% of this age group (over 50 years of age), with a clear increase between 2000 and
2017 [10], posing a problem of ageing of the medical population in these countries, and above
all the problem of succession.
In Mali, only about 16% of doctors were female in 2021, while 36.15% of Malian students in the
Faculty of Medicine were female in the same year [11]. The process of feminization has