PEDIATRICS Vol. 71 No. 4 April 1983, pp. 706-710
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Women of Ethnic Minorities in Pediatrics

OVERVIEW

Minority women physicians may be defined as those of nonwhite racial and ethnic identification. There is a paucity of data available on these women.

Until the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the impact of affirmative action programs, reliable statistics regarding minorities were scarce. Subsequently, a data base identifying racial/ethnic origin as well as sex of medical students and physicians has been evolving. Many sources are currently unable to provide such information because most applications are without racial identification. Neither the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) nor the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) maintain data regarding racial/ethnic origin of members.

In the 1970s there was a rapid increase in admissions of both women and minorities in US medical schools. First-year enrollment in 1980-1981 included 14.1% minority men and women (Table 1). The number of minority women entering medical school increased from 266 (2.2%) in 1971-1972 to 1,066 (6.2%) in 1981-1982 (Table 2).

In departments of pediatrics in US medical schools in 1982, minority women represented 17% of all faculty members. Of 201 minority women, there were 127 Asian, 37 black, 24 Puerto Rican, three Mexican-American, nine other Hispanic, and one American Indian. The most significant increase in representation has occurred in the Asian ethnic group. Minority populations have poorer health status and are at higher risk with respect to accessibility, availability, and utilization of health services. The recruitment and training of minority physicians is important in providing culturally sensitive health care acceptable to bilingual and bicultural minorities.

Most minority groups have career development problems that may be related to their ethnic and cultural background.