Our story begins 160 years ago, during the Civil War era. Elizabeth Blackwell, MD, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S., had graduated only 15 years earlier, in 1849. Blackwell was exceptional; most institutions at the time barred women from higher education and professional work. With a few exceptions, women largely couldn’t vote, take legal action, or own property. [Chicago Health]

Life looks vastly different for women in the U.S. now, though many states have banned access to sexual and reproductive medical care for women. And while more women are practicing medicine today, they remain devalued among their male counterparts by nearly every metric and measurement, including pay equity and leadership roles.

“Getting consultants and patients to believe that I, as a young woman, hold the same amount of knowledge as someone more senior-appearing and masculine-presenting is often challenging, regardless of how many times I assure them that I am indeed a physician,” says Nikki Alberti, MD, an emergency and internal medicine resident at the University of Illinois Chicago. “I truly believe that as the number of women in medicine continues to rise, this culture change will happen.”

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