1.

Compile a list of the several ways in which you become familiar with the social

conventions that are linked with your gender.

Environment

Nature/Nurture

Religion beliefs

Cultural orientation (Traditions)

Learning that is either formal or informal

Socialization (peer associations) (peer associations)

2. In what ways could people's preconceived notions about gender influence the way they

interact with male and female health care professionals?

Throughout history, people of both sexes have been pigeonholed into predetermined roles by

society, regardless of culture or philosophy. As a consequence of this, people of the male

gender are expected to perform this or that particular role, or to enter this or that particular

profession. On the other hand, people of the female gender are expected to perform roles or

enter professions that are quite different from those of their male counterparts due solely to

the fact that they are female. A man who is unable to provide for his family is seen as a

failure, whereas a woman who is unable to care for her home is seen as less of a woman. One

example of this is the general expectation that men will take on the role of primary

breadwinners, while women will be relegated to the role of primary caregivers. In addition,

the rigidity of these gender constructions has made it such that anybody who attempts to

behave outside the societal mould (a woman who wanders into the "manly" duties) is

considered as controversial and rebellious. This is because of the rigidity of these gender
conceptions. Consequently, taking on a job or occupation that does not fit into this socially

created mould may, in most cases, generate unpredictability in the responses of the society's

scrutinising eyes.

There is no denying, then, that this rigidity in gender roles and expectations may, and often

does effect people's responses to individuals who do not exactly fit into their typical and

anticipated roles. This is something that cannot be denied. This is especially true for those

who work in health care. Because "it suits them better," society believes that men should

work in the medical field as physicians, while women should pursue careers in nursing and

other areas of health care. As a consequence of this, individuals who utilise health services

react in a variety of ways when the health professional they are assigned is not what or who

they anticipated. Service recipients feel more at ease when their health provider, such as a

doctor, is a man and their nurse is a female. This is true in the majority of situations. But

when it turns out that the opposite is true, people tend to be cautious and even frightened

about the situation. On the other hand, societal expectations about gender might also have an

impact on how healthcare professionals interact with the patients they serve. Next, we will

investigate the ways in which these overt and/or covert gender prejudices might influence the

way in which service consumers interact with their health care providers.

To begin, a research conducted in 2018 discovered that medical professionals tend to see

males who have chronic pain as "brave" or "stoic," but they view women who have the same

condition as "emotional" or "hysterical." (Kuehnle 2021). The findings of this research may

be read in a number of different ways, one of which being that pain is a mental state for

women but a physical one for males.

Again, this is because most cultures place a higher value on males than they do women, and

as a result, they like having male healthcare professionals take care of them rather than
female ones. This is such laughable ignorance since a recent research found that patients in

cardiac care who were handled by female physicians had a higher chance of surviving a heart

attack than patients who were treated by male doctors. This is laughable ignorance (Berlin et

al 2019).

All in all, these gender norms have only served to cause more harm for the health sector,

some of which includes knowledge gaps, which means that doctors know less about genders

that are not they're, and this could have devastating consequences for the patients. Also, as a

result of the preference of male health workers, there have been a lack of women in

leadership positions in the healthcare industry; this seems to be an imbalanced situation for an

industry that is comprised of up to 60% female employees. In addition, patients have often

been forced to postpone the diagnosis of patients owing to gender assumptions, leading to the

dismissal of the patients' concerns as being of a less significant nature. According to the

findings of an investigation, women waited, on average, longer than males before receiving a

diagnosis in 72% of the instances (Kuehnle 2021). All of these factors could, in practice,

result in a refusal to seek medical treatment, which in turn could result in mistreatment,

neglect, or even death.

References:

Francis Kuehnle's article in Medical News Today titled "What to Know About Gender Bias

in Healthcare" was published on October 25, 2021 and can be found at the following URL:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/gender-bias-in-healthcare#ending-gender-bias.

obtained on the 31st of October 2021.

McKinsey & Company, "Women in healthcare industry," June 7, 2019,

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/women-

in-the-healthcare-industry, accessed October 31, 2021. Berlin, Gretchen, et al.