Female doctors in Britain will outnumber their male counterparts, the profession’s regulator predicts.
A report from the General Medical Council reveals the workforce is close to reaching “parity” between male and female doctors.
Around 49 per cent of licensed doctors in the UK last year were women and the profession is “likely” to soon become “majority female”, the report said.
There are also now more registered ethnic minority doctors than white doctors.
A slightly higher proportion of new hires in 2023 were women (52 percent), while men accounted for a higher rate of those leaving (54 percent).
From 2019 to 2023, Wales had the largest growth in female doctors at 26 per cent, followed by England at 23 per cent, Northern Ireland (18 per cent) and Scotland (14 per cent).
Medical student admissions grew slightly in 2023, the report said, with women making up 60 percent of students.
The GMC report says: ‘The gradual shift towards gender parity in the medical workforce has continued.
Around 49 per cent of licensed doctors in the UK last year were women and the profession is “likely” to soon become “majority female” (file image)
Locally employed doctors work for trusts on local contracts in non-training and usually non-permanent roles, without nationally agreed terms and conditions (file image)
“In the coming years it is likely that the balance will change even more and there will be slightly more female doctors than male doctors.”
It adds: ‘It is imperative that any form of discrimination or injustice in the working lives of doctors is uncovered, confronted and eliminated to ensure that all doctors can reach their full potential. “All parties have a role to play in this.”
Between 2022 and 2023, the number of licensed doctors grew at the fastest rate since GMC records began in 2011. The 6 per cent increase was more than double the average year-on-year growth since 2011 (2.6 per cent), which the GMC said it was “driven by foreign workers taking on local jobs”.
Locally employed doctors work for trusts on local contracts in non-training and usually non-permanent roles, without nationally agreed terms and conditions.
In England and Wales, the number of locally employed doctors increased by 75 per cent between 2019 and 2023, from 21,000 to 36,831.
The proportion of doctors leaving the profession in the UK remains stable at 4 per cent, the GMC said, although it warned that “there are signs that more doctors intend to leave in the future”.
The main reason for leaving was a desire to practice abroad, with Australia being the most popular destination.
Suzie Bailey, of think tank The King’s Fund, said: “It is encouraging that the number of registered doctors has grown at the fastest rate in the last decade.”
“It is also clear that recruiting new doctors alone is not enough; adequate training and support is necessary, all of which can be in short supply in a stretched health system.”