Commitment and the cultural mandate: women in medicine

Though little overt, "actionable" discrimination is apparent in medical schools, a "discriminatory environment" persists, in part because its structure is based on an understanding of "commitment" and "success" congruent with male--but not female--sex role stereotypes and familial roles. Professional commitment--one of the profession's most important criteria for judging a recruit's suitability and potential for success--is used to illustrate how women's choice of careers are channelled and constrained within medicine. Illustrative data are drawn from semi-structured interviews with administrators, faculty, and students in a nationwide sample of medical schools.