Paper short abstract:

Female doctors, especially during the childrearing period, face difficulties in continuing their professional careers. This paper reports on the work environment for women doctors with domestic childrearing responsibilities at a regional hospital in Japan.

Paper long abstract:

Although medical care is one of the fundamental supports for Japan's aging population, many communities, especially in regional areas, encounter problems related to the shortage of doctors. As the proportion of female doctors is increasing, especially among younger generations, providing appropriate support for and promoting female doctors are important tactics to secure adequate numbers and maintain a high quality of medical care. With these issues in mind, in 2008, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare launched a program to support female doctors, yet many challenges remain. Although their numbers have increased, female doctors struggle to continue their professional careers and significant numbers eventually resign from general practice or from posts in university hospitals. An increase in the number of female care practitioners would raise the quality of medical care for their communities. Women doctors, however, are rarely found at the levels of chief or in other leading positions. The reasons for the resignation of female doctors are varied but written surveys and interviews suggest several challenges. Based on a survey that obtained over 500 responses from male and female medical practitioners at public hospitals, the paper argues that female doctors encounter conservative expectations from their own families regarding their childcare responsibilities, and some are unable to obtain access to opportunities for career development. Furthermore, many medical practitioners at the public hospitals are constantly under high levels of stress from long working hours, and they encounter challenges managing personnel for the senior doctors of each department. These findings suggest that providing greater work flexibility and support for family responsibilities may improve career sustainability for both female and male doctors.