Engendering gender equality in professional employment: can policy rise to the occasion?

Abstract

Women are increasingly accessing employment areas even in traditionally male-dominated fields like medicine, but they struggle to participate to the same extent as their male counterparts, constraining their potential for advancement. As an example of the constraints women face within formal employment, there is clear evidence of gender differences in specialisation, when the literature on gender in the professions is examined. The traditional view is that this is an expected outcome, based on gender preferences resulting from socialisation. I support the more recent assertions that it be seen as a structural constraint, often experienced when a profession is increasingly feminised, due to mechanisms such as; gender stereotyping, gender discrimination, internal segregation and exclusion.