Why Do Female Doctors Earn Less?

Lying in bed reading the newspapers is my indulgent Sunday morning activity although often the stories make me splutter into my tea.

One such was this report on female doctors hitting a glass ceiling in the UK -this link will take you to the story.

Why?

Splutter over, I mused on what makes it so, particularly the comment that ‘women do not put themselves forward’. There are lots of obvious reasons like child care etc but actually, although most people now would not dispute that women are equally as capable as men, the world of working practices has not caught up.

Change The Way We Work

Work and working practices have been designed by men and suit men. Historically it’s how it happened. Women and ethnic minorities were not around when the basic principles were established. But if we were to design many of our old established professions to suit BOTH genders (not just make them female friendly which sounds somewhat patronising, but really think about a system that is open to everyone in our society), I believe the equality issue would fade. Modern companies that have taken this more inclusive route have found that both women AND men benefit.

What Do You Think?

Do you think your profession/job/career would be significantly different if both genders had devised the working remit? Please do share your thoughts with us.

Glass ceiling?

Jenny Watson, chair of Equal Opportunities Commission ,

‘Women will not make it to the top in significant numbers unless action is taken to remove barriers that stand in their way. Unless this happens, Britain will continue to miss out on women’s skills and talents for another generation.’

And it’s no better in America as this story about  the supreme court in US illustrates. Read this link

Have you ever experienced discrimination because of your looks?
Do you think a glass ceiling is lurking in your workplace?
How many senior women are there in your organisation?
Do they encourage and inspire you?
Have you ever had to deal with overt discrimination?

Please do share your experiences with us!