Women in psychiatry: A view from the Indian subcontinent

BACKGROUND: Psychiatry has not been a preferred medical specialty for women in the Indian subcontinent unlike in the Western countries like USA, Canada or UK. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of women doctors in India choosing psychiatry as career. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Information on women in psychiatry in the Indian subcontinent was collected using resources like PubMed, directories of the professional societies, websites of medical institues, souvenirs and scientific programme of various conferences and personal communication with psychiatrists, and the data about postgraduate trainees available with the authors' own institute. RESULTS: Women psychiatrists constitute about 15% of total psychiatrists in India, out of whom only 10% are at a relatively senior level, and the most are young. The women psychiatrists are also in faculty positions in a number of medical schools and have held important positions in the Indian Psychiatric Society at different times. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the women psychiatrists appear to be still at junior levels, having joined the profession relatively recently as compared to their male counterparts. The trend at increasing number of women psychiatrists in the Indian subcontinent is similar to the worldwide trends.