The Audit Project
Who is teaching us medicine? And what does their gender end up teaching students?
Despite much progress being made in the last decades, disparity between genders in the medical profession remains a significant issue. Although this most commonly is considered in the context of hospitals, we recognise that gendered stereotypes about medical specialties start from day one of medical school, with male teachers almost invariably being more represented in teaching programs for procedural skills such as surgery. This creates a ‘hidden curriculum’, reinforcing to all students, regardless of their gender, the pre-existing, entrenched and gendered nature of specialisation within medicine.
But – to what extent is this an issue in Australia? What are the proportions of male to female medical lecturers, and what subjects are they teaching? Do these proportions vary between disciplines and between medical schools?
These are the questions that we’re asking as part of The Audit Project, an audit of gender representation in teaching in Australian medical schools. In 2018, we’re teaming up with the University of Sydney Medical School to conduct a collaborative study to formally audit gender representation in medical schools across Australia. Our study will be the first of its kind in Australia, with no previous studies having been conducted of this nature.
We are currently acquiring ethics approval to complete audits from medical schools in Australia
Interested in doing an audit at your medical school?
We’re currently looking for people interested in conducting audits at their own medical schools across the country. If you’re interested in doing this at your own school, get in touch with us and we’ll explain the process further.