HEALTH-ARGENTINA: Women Have the Numbers But No Power

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Mar 10 1999 (IPS) - Women comprise the majority of workers in the health professions of Argentina but their numbers dwindle when it comes to occupying leadership and decision-making positions.

“Leadership in the health sector in Argentina is still very sexist”, said Mabel Bianco, Director of the Foundation for Research on Women and a consultant for international organizations on the issue.

Women made up 65 percent of students at dental school, 66 percent of medical students, 72 percent of the Pharmacology students and 82 percent of psychology students, according to a 1995 census conducted at 13 universities in the capital.

“But while there was a “feminization of the medical profession and hospital services” there were few women heads of services and practically no female hospital directors, said Bianco.

Only one of the 24 hospitals in the city of Buenos Aires had a women director and it was even more difficult to find women directors at provincial health centres. The same scarcity of women existed among top officials at the Ministry of Health.

“There never has been a woman Minister of Health, and there are very few women who get to the level of under secretaries. In Education – another sector where women make up the majority – at least they have made it to the level of Minister”, said Bianco.

In terms of the increase of women registered in health-related university programs, this does not necessarily mean more equal access into the professional world. “There is a phenomenon of job insecurity in these professions,” she explained.

Doctors’ salaries had decreased and the number of physicians in private practice was dwindling whereas it used to be a fundamental element in all doctors’ income, regardless of any specialisation.

There also was an over-supply of psychologists, a fact that eroded honorariums and generated institutional services that were more accessible to patients but less profitable for professionals.

“Women consult doctors more than men do, and are therefore greater consumers of health services, for many different reasons”, said physician Marta Fernandez.

Women of childbearing age consult doctors frequently, not only for diseases, but because of pregnancies, childbirth or other matters related to reproduction. “Men are more fearful, and in general, postpone seeing a doctor,” Fernandez noted.

Meanwhile, 80 percent of people over 75 years of age are women who consult doctors for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension or arthritis but they do not always receive equal treatment.

“Women tend to be treated like handicapped people. In general the doctors do not treat them with respect, or they use overly familiar terms with them, as if they were children,” said Bianco.

“Mamita” is the expression most used by obstetricians and nurses at hospitals and maternity wards. “Child” or “girl”, or “my love”, or “dear” are also frequently used, or “grandma” if she is an elderly woman. “No man would ever be called ‘papito’ during a medical examination”, said Bianco.

She added that women, much more than men, suffered “authoritarian” treatment from male doctors who administered treatment or medication – for her or her children – without much explanation or margin for to make her own decision.

Fernandez, who works at the Posadas Hospital, and Bianco both observed that to a certain extent, there also was a deficit in medical attention for women. Job insecurity led them to consult doctors at odd hours, when means they could only be seen by emergency room doctors.

Maternal mortality, which declined steadily from 1970 to 1995, had begun to climb, she said. “There have been cases of deaths from toxemia – high blood pressure and retention of fluids during pregnancy – which is a disease that can be controlled through routine check-ups.”