The slow, steady expansion of women in medical school and medical practice has significantly changed the face of medicine, particularly as women have increased their presence in certain specialties, according to a data analysis by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Women now account for more than one-third of active physicians, and are expanding their presence to become a majority or significant share of active physicians in such specialties as pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology, pathology, and psychiatry.
These are among the findings from a comparison of data about active physicians in the United States. The AAMC compared specialty data from 2004 and 2022, the first and the most recent years for which comparable statistics are available. (For the most current data available on the U.S. physician workforce, visit the U.S. Physician Workforce Data Dashboard.)
Here are some of the notable results of the comparison, along with other relevant data for context:
Women expand presence overall
The growth in the total physician workforce — from 730,654 in 2004 to 989,320 in 2022 — reflects the increasing presence of women physicians.
- From 2004 to 2022, the number of women in the active physician workforce increased 97%, while the number of men increased 13%.
- Women accounted for 38% of active physicians in 2022 (a total of 371,851), an increase from 26% (a total of 188,926) in 2004.
- Men accounted for 62% of active physicians in 2022 (a total of 613,974), a decrease from 74% (a total of 541,285) in 2004.
Women drive growth in the largest specialties
Each of the 20 largest specialties in 2022 (in terms of total numbers of physicians) increased from 2004, and women increased their presence in 17 of them. Here are those specialties, along with the percentage of women in those specialties in 2004 and 2022. In 2022, these 20 specialties accounted for 73% of active physicians in the United States.
| Specialty | 2004 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Medicine | 30% | 40% |
| Family Medicine/General Practice | 28% | 43% |
| Pediatrics | 52% | 66% |
| Emergency Medicine | 20% | 30% |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | 38% | 62% |
| Anesthesiology | 21% | 26% |
| Psychiatry | 30% | 42% |
| Radiology & Diagnostic Radiology | 19% | 27% |
| General Surgery | 11% | 24% |
| Cardiovascular Disease | 9% | 16% |
| Pathology | 32% | 44% |
| Ophthalmology | 16% | 28% |
| Orthopedic Surgery | 3% | 6% |
| Hematology and Oncology | 22% | 36% |
| Gastroenterology | 9% | 21% |
| Critical Care Medicine | 21% | 28% |
| Neurology | 21% | 33% |
| Dermatology | 35% | 53% |
| Nephrology | 19% | 30% |
| Urology | 4% | 11% |
Among the 20 largest specialties in 2022, women’s representation between 2004 and 2022 grew the most in:
- Critical Care Medicine — 392%
- Gastroenterology — 219%
- Urology — 215%
- Nephrology — 186%
- Emergency Medicine — 172%
Among the 20 largest specialties in 2022, those with the highest percentage of women physicians remained largely the same from 2004 to 2022, with one change.
2004:
- Pediatrics — 52%
- Obstetrics and Gynecology — 38%
- Dermatology — 35%
- Pathology — 32%
- Psychiatry — 30%
2022:
- Pediatrics — 66%
- Obstetrics and Gynecology — 62%
- Dermatology — 53%
- Pathology — 44%
- Family Medicine/General Practice — 43%
Women physicians remain a minority
Despite the growth in numbers, women remain a minority in almost all of the 20 largest specialties. The largest specialties in which women have been a majority:
- 2004 — pediatrics
- 2022 — pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology
The changes reflect the growth of women in medical school
- In 2019, women for the first time accounted for a majority (50.5%) of students enrolled in medical school in the United States.
- That percentage keeps growing. In the 2023-24 academic year, women accounted for 54.6% of medical school students.
If women continue to enter and graduate from medical school in greater numbers, the percentage of women in the physician workforce will likely grow as well.
Women leave medicine more often than men
One off-setting factor to this expanded presence is that many women physicians go part-time or leave medicine altogether just several years after completing their residencies.
- One study found that within six years of completing training, 22.6% of women physicians were not working full-time compared to 3.6% of men physicians.
- The gap between women and men expands for those with children (30.6% versus 4.6%).
