Yu Wenya, Liu Xiang, Chen Hong, Tian Jiahe, Li Meina, Mu Wei, Ge Yang
School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
Department of Respiratory Disease, The 903rd Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, Hangzhou 310000, China.
J Mol Cell Biol. 2025 Mar 21;16(9). doi: 10.1093/jmcb/mjae040.
Gender differences in the health workforce matter for women's health and healthcare, and is also crucial for both health and economic development. Drawing on limited national gender data from China over the last 10 years, during which the country was undergoing a healthcare reform, this study dissects gender-related issues to identify existing problems, monitor progress, and develop strategies to promote change. Although women constituted the majority of health workers, they are predominantly engaged in service-oriented occupations. The gender distribution substantially differed between urban and rural primary health institutions. Moreover, significant differences in gender distribution among professional public health institutions were observed. The gender distribution of administrators varied in different types of health institutions. Women had lighter workloads because of the imbalanced distribution of specialties. Academicians comprised very few female scientists. To promote a more balanced gender distribution, policies should be developed to encourage a more reasonable division of family responsibilities. Further, equal higher education opportunities should be ensured for girls, especially in rural areas. Solutions to free more women from work-marriage-childcare conflicts and to decrease turnover rates deserve further discussion. Gender data should be highlighted and optimized to further advance gender differences among the health workforce and for women's health in China.
卫生人力中的性别差异对妇女健康及医疗保健至关重要，对健康和经济发展也至关重要。本研究利用中国过去十年有限的全国性性别数据（在此期间该国正在进行医疗改革），剖析与性别相关的问题，以识别现存问题、监测进展并制定促进变革的策略。尽管女性构成了卫生工作者的大多数，但她们主要从事服务型职业。城乡基层医疗卫生机构的性别分布存在显著差异。此外，专业公共卫生机构之间的性别分布也存在显著差异。不同类型卫生机构中管理人员的性别分布各不相同。由于专业分布不均衡，女性的工作量较轻。院士中女性科学家很少。为促进更平衡的性别分布，应制定政策鼓励更合理地分担家庭责任。此外，应确保女孩享有平等的高等教育机会，尤其是在农村地区。如何让更多女性摆脱工作 - 婚姻 - 育儿冲突并降低离职率的解决方案值得进一步探讨。应突出并优化性别数据，以进一步推动中国卫生人力中的性别差异及妇女健康状况。
