Black Women in Medicine Flashcards
The Three-Fifths Compromise
Discounted Black women as only “part” of a human being, to be counted for congressional representation and direct taxation but nothing more.
US Women’s Suffrage Movement
Prioritized white women over voting rights for all women; prime example of how racism and elitism were embedded in 19th and early 20th century US history.
Structural barriers
Include segregated housing, economic instability, and underfunded school systems
The American Medical Association
Contributed to the closure of historically Black medical schools and women’s medical colleges in an attempt to professionalize medicine.
This is an example of how American medical education itself has been shaped by histories of racism and discrimination.
Goldilocks dilemma
In reference to Black women - they are either insufficient and unsuitable or boastful and overdone – never just right.
“In fact, if they do speak up about inequities, advocate for reform, or seek to advance institutional diversity, these physicians can be caricatured as just another angry Black woman and dismissed as being unreasonable and melodramatic.
The American Medical Women’s Association
Also known as the “Give Her a Reason to Stay in Healthcare campaign” has inspired thousands to demand pay parity, harassment-free workspaces, and child-care services to support female physicians
Summary
- Black women physicians are simultaneously considered superhuman, but never enough
- Black women who battle through this historically exclusionary medical education system to become physicians might justifiably be portrayed as a certain type of superwomen. Unfortunately, these victories are often accompanied by relentless pressure to succeed – or rather, not to fail
- Any failure may be seized upon by critics who see success among people from racially minoritized groups as the exception, not the rule
Other Main Points
- To combat such racist, misogynistic stereotypes, Black women physicians typically must work twice as hard to get half as far – and they don’t have the agency/support to fall back upon
- While Black women physicians are often happy to help combat racial and gender inequities, we encounter issues when the obligation to solve structural barriers and institutional responsibilities is unjustly thrust upon individual Black women
What should we do as a society?
WHAT IS NOT EFFECTIVE:
- Demanded pay parity, harassment-free workspaces, and child-care services to support female physicians are not concrete, enduring actions
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN:
- Health-care organizations need institutionally driven diversity programs to improve advancement, retention, professional opportunities, and the campus climate for all community members
DEI
The authors suggest to endorse and expand such initiatives that recognize DEI work (diversity, equity, and inclusion) as a shared responsibility and offer Black women physicians the space to move the needle forward without overburdening them in the process
