How women entered medicine, and what doctors are still taught

Who becomes a doctor, and what doctors are taught, shapes what medicine knows. This article covers the history of women in medical school and what recent surveys say about training today.

A long wait for the door to open

Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, founded in 1824, did not admit women until 1961. Its trustees voted on June 6, 1960, nine women started classes on September 11, 1961, and the first women graduated in 1965. That is 137 years without a female student.

A 2024 historical study found women made up about 6% of US doctors in 1910, and the share stayed between 4.5% and 6.5% until the 1960s. Several women doctors recalled interviewers telling them there were quotas for admitting women.

The numbers turn

Women were 9.3% of medical college matriculants in 1965 and 28.7% by 1980. That period included the civil rights era and Title IX in 1972.

Not only in the United States

In 2018, a university-commissioned investigation found that Tokyo Medical University had been lowering women's entrance exam scores since 2006. A December 2018 review of 81 medical schools by Japan's education ministry found nine, including Tokyo Medical, Juntendo and Kitasato, had improper admissions practices based on factors that included sex and age.

Not all nine were found to discriminate against women. The practices included preference for alumni and repeat applicants.

What doctors are taught about menopause

In a 2022 national survey of OB-GYN residency program directors, only 31% said their program has a menopause curriculum, and 29% said trainees had dedicated time in a menopause clinic.

In a 2017 survey of residents in family medicine, internal medicine and OB-GYN, about 1 in 5 (20%) said they got no menopause lectures during residency. Only 7% felt adequately prepared to manage menopause, and 94% said menopause training is important. That survey had 183 residents from 20 programs and a 26% response rate.

Sex and gender in study materials

In one analysis of a widely used USMLE Step 1 review book, only 7.9% of the pharmacology content was sex- and gender-aware. That is a study prep book, not the exam itself.

In a 2025 survey at one US medical school, 71% of faculty respondents said considering sex and gender matters for patient care, but only 24% reported any formal or continuing education on it. There were 38 respondents, so this is a small snapshot.

What this does not tell us

• Most training numbers come from single surveys with low response rates.
• We could not confirm a widely quoted claim about how many US medical schools teach sex and gender medicine, so we do not repeat it.
• Training gaps do not show how any individual doctor practices.

Frequently asked questions

When did medical schools start admitting women?

It varied. Jefferson Medical College admitted its first women in 1961, after 137 years. Women were 9.3% of US medical college matriculants in 1965 and 28.7% by 1980.

Do doctors get training in menopause?

Often very little. In one 2022 survey, only 31% of OB-GYN program directors said their program has a menopause curriculum. In a 2017 survey, 7% of residents felt adequately prepared to manage menopause.

What happened at Tokyo Medical University?

In 2018, an investigation found the school had been lowering women's entrance exam scores since 2006. A later government review found nine of 81 medical schools had improper admissions practices.

Related reading

• Why women were left out of clinical trials, and what changed
• Do women need different drug doses? What the research says
• Women's health research funding: the gap in numbers
• Gender gaps in care: from the emergency room to heart procedures
• The women's health research gap: what the evidence shows
• Why women's health is decades behind: the research gap
• Dosed like a smaller man: why women get the wrong drug doses
• Why medicine is not one-size-fits-all for men and women

Sources

1. Evens E. PlayDoc M.D. Social History of Medicine, 2024. Jefferson: Jefferson Digital Commons.
2. BBC News report on Japan's education ministry review of medical school admissions, December 14, 2018.
3. Allen JT et al. Survey of OB-GYN residency program directors on menopause training. Menopause, 2023 (PMID 37738034).
4. Kling JM et al. Survey of residents in family medicine, internal medicine and OB-GYN on menopause training. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2019 (PMID 30711122).
5. Quantitative and qualitative analysis on sex and gender in preparatory material for national medical examination in Germany and the United States. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, 2020.
6. Medical school faculty knowledge and attitudes toward sex and gender-based medicine. PRiMER, 2025.

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Sources were checked in October 2026. Several figures come from secondary analyses, as noted above.