The future of women in Australian medicine

Data are presented on the division of labour in doctor's households which show that, in addition to practising, medical women perform almost as much domestic work as do the wives of their male colleagues. In relation to The National Health Act 1970, and current postgraduate training procedures, this has implications for an increasingly polarized division of labour in medicine, as the numbers and proportions of women doctors increase. If the trend is not inhibited by amendment of postgraduate training procedures, and a more equitable distribution of domestic labour, a second-class status is likely for women in medicine, to the detriment of both the profession and the community.