Women in Medicine
Stories of resilience, discrimination, triumph, and leadership from women physicians
The history of women in medicine is simultaneously a story of extraordinary perseverance and systemic exclusion. From Elizabeth Blackwell, who in 1849 became the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States after being rejected by every medical school except one, to the contemporary landscape where women now constitute a majority of medical school entrants but remain dramatically underrepresented in leadership, surgery, and academic medicine — the arc of women in medicine bends toward progress, but slowly, and with enormous personal cost to the women who push it forward. In "Physicians' Untold Stories," Dr. Kolbaba includes accounts from women physicians whose experiences illuminate both how far the profession has come and how far it has yet to go.
The disparities women face in medicine are well-documented and persistent. Women physicians earn approximately 75 cents for every dollar earned by male counterparts, even after controlling for specialty, hours worked, and experience, according to a 2019 study in Health Affairs. Women constitute only 18% of department chairs, 16% of medical school deans, and 25% of full professors at academic medical centers. Sexual harassment and gender discrimination remain endemic: a 2018 National Academies of Sciences report found that over 50% of women in academic medical settings reported experiencing sexual harassment during their careers. The maternal penalty is particularly severe — women physicians who have children face measurable career disadvantages in promotion, publication, and pay that male physicians with children do not experience.
The stories in this collection move beyond statistics to capture the lived texture of practicing medicine while female. A cardiothoracic surgeon who was repeatedly addressed as 'nurse' by patients and colleagues. A residency director who had to choose between attending her daughter's first day of kindergarten and a tenure committee meeting. A physician who returned to practice six weeks after giving birth because her program offered no paid maternity leave. These accounts are not victim narratives — they are portraits of strength, adaptability, and the particular brand of excellence that women bring to medicine, often achieved not because of the system's support but in spite of its resistance.
Inside the Book
In Physicians' Untold Stories, Dr. Kolbaba includes accounts from women physicians who encountered gender-based discrimination, dismissal, and harassment throughout their careers — from being mistaken for nurses in their own operating rooms to facing promotion timelines years longer than equally qualified male colleagues. The book also captures the particular resilience and excellence these physicians developed, often achieved not because of institutional support but in spite of its absence. These stories illuminate both how far the profession has come and how far it still has to go.
Read the Stories →Key Facts About Women in Medicine
Women now constitute 55% of U.S. medical school matriculants as of 2023, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, surpassing men for the first time in 2019 — yet women hold only 18% of department chair positions and 16% of medical school deanships.
A 2019 study in Health Affairs found that women physicians earn approximately 75 cents for every dollar earned by male physicians, even after controlling for specialty, practice setting, hours worked, and years of experience — an annual gap of approximately $36,000.
Elizabeth Blackwell was admitted to Geneva Medical College in 1847 only because the male students voted to accept her application as a joke, believing the faculty would never actually grant her a degree. She graduated first in her class in 1849.
A 2018 National Academies of Sciences report found that over 50% of women in academic medical settings reported experiencing sexual harassment during their careers, with rates comparable to those in the military — the highest of any workplace sector studied.
Research published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2017 by Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa at UCLA found that patients treated by female physicians had significantly lower 30-day mortality rates and readmission rates compared to patients treated by male physicians, suggesting measurable outcome differences associated with physician gender.
Research Spotlight
Dr. Reshma Jagsi's research program at the University of Michigan, including her landmark studies published in JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine, has produced some of the most rigorous quantitative evidence documenting gender disparities in academic medicine, demonstrating that women physician-scientists receive significantly lower NIH funding awards, are underrepresented as senior authors and speakers at major conferences, and face promotion timelines averaging two to three years longer than male counterparts with equivalent productivity.
Types of Phenomena in the Book
Distribution across 26 physician accounts
Near-Death Experience Features
Percentage reporting each feature (van Lommel et al., 2001)
Why Women in Medicine Matters
Women in medicine have always had to be not just competent but exceptional — not just present but undeniable. The stories in "Physicians' Untold Stories" honor this reality by capturing the full range of the female physician experience: the barriers confronted, the battles won, the compromises made, and the quiet triumphs that never made it into any promotion packet. For women physicians, reading these accounts creates recognition and solidarity across generations and specialties. For all physicians, these stories are a necessary education in the hidden costs that half the profession has borne, and a reminder that equity in medicine is not a completed project but an ongoing obligation.
Questions Readers Ask
Why does the gender pay gap persist in medicine despite women now being the majority of medical school entrants?
How do women physicians navigate the unique challenges of combining motherhood with medical practice?
What impact does physician gender have on patient outcomes, and what does the research show?
Why are women still underrepresented in surgical specialties and medical leadership positions?
Read the Stories That Changed Everything
Over 200 physicians interviewed. 26 stories that will challenge what you believe about life, death, and everything in between.
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