Women doctors are set to outnumber their male counterparts by 2017, and already dominate fields such as general practice, paediatrics and palliative care.
Maham Khan, from Imperial College, London, says more women doctors could lead to safer practice, as women are less likely than men to be investigated for failures in performance or to face disciplinary charges.
However, other experts warn that the “progressive feminisation” of medicine carries “dangers”.
A 2009 report by the Royal College of Physicians warned that patient care may be threatened by the changing gender balance of the profession.
It said that women doctors were more likely to work part time and take career breaks to have families, and therefore competition for less flexible, female-friendly disciplines would be reduced.
Professor Jane Dacre, medical school director of University College London, says that women are under-represented at the top of the profession because they are “not investing in the time and effort it takes to get the top jobs”.
Her words appear to echo those of Dame Carol Black, former president of the Royal College of Physicians, who said in 2004 that growing numbers of women doctors could reduce the influence of the medical profession at the highest level.
She said that the problem was not that women had a lower capacity to perform, but rather that they may be less willing than men to give up their evenings to such things as committee meetings and networking.
Women doctors still face a wage gap and are “struggling in the chauvinistic disciplines of cardiology and surgery”.