Women physicians' experiences in the workplace in Lebanon: a qualitative study

Over the past several decades, the number of female physicians entering the medical and healthcare workplace has increased. Despite their skills and qualifications, they face several challenges in their career including gender discrimination, work-life balance, sexual harassment, limited career advancement opportunities, and burnout. The purpose of this study is to assess perceived challenges encountered by women physicians in the workplace and identify coping strategies to overcome these challenges and achieve professional success.

A qualitative research design with an inductive approach was used to collect the data from female physicians' experiences at their workplace between July and December 2023 through a semi-structured one-on-one interview with open-ended questions. Purposive and snowball techniques were used to recruit female physicians working in private and/or public Lebanese hospitals. The interviews were conducted in Arabic, recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data.

A total of 12 women physicians participated in the interviews. The analysis identified three main themes: (1) personal challenges faced by women in medicine, (2) institutional challenges faced by women in medicine, and (3) Solutions for issues faced by women in medicine.

Participants highlighted personal challenges such as work-life balance, and burnout, as well as institutional obstacles like gender discrimination, limited career advancement opportunities, and sexual harassment. By uncovering these barriers this research provides a critical foundation for the development of targeted policies and interventions aimed at fostering a more equitable and supportive environment for women in the medical profession.