Description
In a presentation led by Jo Round, the focus is on the findings from a survey conducted to assess gender imbalance within medical legal reporting. The survey revealed that only 8% of BOA home members are female, with under 1% of registered expert witnesses being women. Jo raises critical questions about whether this discrepancy is due to a lack of women advertising their services or other societal barriers. The analysis draws attention to the professional experiences of respondents, highlighting that women tend to be younger and less experienced than their male counterparts.
The survey included 68 respondents, with trends indicating that women are also less involved in private practice. Jo notes the small percentages of female respondents engaging in medical legal work (8%, equating to just three individuals), which complicates statistical analysis due to potential respondent biases.
Jo highlights reasons for entering medical legal work, such as the flexibility it offers and the stimulation it provides, while also noting differences in motivations between genders. Women cited practical reasons like paying school fees, while men preferred luxuries. Differences in perceptions of confrontation and a lack of mentorship opportunities emerged as stumbling blocks for women entering the field.
The talk encourages further exploration of these gender dynamics and calls for the audience to complete a survey to gather more data on these trends. Jo concludes that while the sample size is small, the findings offer meaningful insights into gender representation in the medical legal specialty and indicate areas for improvement, aiming to enhance participation across all genders.