Male physicians have been represented in films through the last three decades four times more often than women, according to recent analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The study examined 2,295 physician characters across 1,226 movies released between 1990 and 2020 with references of physicians in plot summaries, key words and casting credits on IMDb.
The analysis found that 81.4 percent of physician characters in film were men, compared to 18.6 percent being women. However, female physician representation grew by roughly 2 percentage points per decade, from 16.6 percent in the 1990s to 18.6 percent in the 2000s and finally to 20.8 percent in the 2010s.
Female physician representation was higher in movies rated PG-13 or R at 29.1 percent, compared to 21.2 percent in films rated G or PG. Movies that featured multiple physicians also included female physician characters more often than those with just one physician at a rate of 46.8 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively.