Review
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Women of Color in the Health Professions: A Scoping Review of the Literature
Version 1
: Received: 5 November 2023 / Approved: 9 November 2023 / Online: 9 November 2023 (07:29:41 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Okoro, O.; Umaru, O.; Ray, M. Women of Color in the Health Professions: A Scoping Review of the Literature. Pharmacy 2024, 12, 29. Okoro, O.; Umaru, O.; Ray, M. Women of Color in the Health Professions: A Scoping Review of the Literature. Pharmacy 2024, 12, 29.
Abstract
Women of color (WoC) in the health professions encounter challenges in advancement to higher positions, disparities in wages, discrimination, lack of expectation to achieve leadership positions, and absence of extensive support networks. Articles in the literature have addressed race and/or gender in the context of professional development. However, applying an intersectionality lens or framework to better understand the contextual issues of professional development for WoC remains to be addressed. Thus, this scoping review aimed to (i) identify health professions literature that addresses disparities affecting WoC, and (ii) describe strategies and approaches to support WoC in the health professions. Methods: Literature searches were conducted in multiple databases. Three independent reviewers reviewed and screened articles for inclusion. Results: 31 articles were included - medicine(17), nursing(1), pharmacy(7), other(4), and multiple health professions(2). Key findings included underrepresentation of women and minority groups, inequities in professional advancement and leadership positions for WoC, and greater dissatisfaction and attrition among minority and women professionals. Conclusion: WoC face unique and distinct challenges and barriers in their professional careers resulting from the intersectionality of not only race and gender, but also lived experiences and opportunities. Strategies to improve diversity and representation should include an intersectionality framework or lens and be critically evaluated.
Keywords
Intersectionality; Healthcare professions; Women of color; Pharmacy; Racial/Ethnic inequity; Gender inequity; Discrimination; Professional advancement; Underrepresentation
Subject
Social Sciences, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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