[Women physicians. Developmental tendencies in specialization and career patterns]

An earlier study showed that female doctors were found in specific subgroups of the medical profession. Their choices were probably governed by traditional ideas about feminine versus male role-expectations. This study shows that there still exists marked sex differences within the medical profession. Female doctors are still to be found in specific specialities. Seen in relation to male doctors the degree of specialization among female doctors decreased from 1972 to 1986. This is probably due to the fact that there are many young female doctors who have not yet completed their specialization. In married couples of doctors on the contrary, there is an increasing tendency towards equality of professional career, since the female partner now more often reaches the same career level as her husband, and with less lag in time.