Viewpoint: 'Google memo' doesn't apply to women in the medical field

In response to the 10-page memo written by a former Google engineer published last week, Samuel Freeman, MD, a faculty lecturer in the pediatrics department at McGill University in Montreal, penned an op-ed for The Washington Post stating James Damore's claims about women don't apply to his female colleagues in the medical field.

Dr. Freeman writes Mr. Damore's memo "depicts a world that in no way corresponds to [his] reality or to [his] experience of gender dynamics" with regard to the pediatrics field. If Mr. Damore is to be believed, women wouldn't be able to succeed and thrive in medicine because of their propensity for "neuroticism," "higher anxiety" and "lower stress tolerance," as Mr. Damore wrote in his memo. However, Dr. Freeman notes in Canada, as well as in the U.S., medical schools have seen an increase in the number of female applicants, according to data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The Canadian Medical Association released data from this year indicating roughly 60 percent of physicians under the age of 35 are women, illustrating women's propensity to take on challenging career paths just as their male colleagues do.

While Mr. Damore cites men's "higher drive for status" as the reason for their success, Dr. Freeman claims the assessment fails to account for the privilege men have as a result of their gender.

"[Despite] the fact that I am often in the minority as a man, I still am so clearly favored over my female colleagues. I receive an almost automatic credibility pass when I come to a new ward or work environment, where the worst I might experience is some gentle teasing at the hands of more experienced staff," Dr. Freeman writes. "My female counterparts, on the other hand, describe intense scrutiny and second-guessing from their superiors and others, and a recurrent struggle to prove their competence and earn trust."

Rather than perceiving the gender disparity at companies like Google and Uber as an endpoint, Dr. Freeman says society must come together to change the conversation to one that examines the gender gap "as a simple fact of life beyond which individuals and society can move in the pursuit of other values," he writes.

To read Dr. Freeman's op-ed, click here.

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars