Introduction
Since the early XX century, the topic of gender and profession has been an urgent problem for discussions by the public. The profession of a physical therapist is one of the most socially essential occupations all over the world, and women play an important role in its development.
The aim of this essay is to discuss the profession of physical therapist explaining the role of women in this field.
The Role of Women in the Profession
“Physical therapy in the United States was originally an occupation composed almost entirely of women; the field currently remains about 75% female” (Raz et al., 1991, p.530). It is interesting to note that the relationship was observed between the sphere of activity and gender occupations. In particular, it was found that women are more occupied in the services sphere, whereas the sphere of production, especially requiring the specific technical knowledge and skills, employs mainly the men.
Answering the question why women want to be occupied in the physical therapy, it should be said that it represents a kind of job which reflects the main functions of a woman in the family, namely, the role of paying attention to every family member and taking care for family well-being.
At the time when women gained equal opportunities with men for being employed, their functions shifted from the level of family to the level of society as a whole to some extent. That is why the medical profession and physical therapy, in particular, became one of the favorite occupations for women.
The previous research on this topic gives us an indication that the whole of the diversity of occupations can be divided into two main groups: the professions themselves and the so-called semi-professions (Etzioni, 1969). Furthermore, it was decided to classify the physical therapy as a semi-profession due to such its core features as caregiving, the supervisory role, and the essence of communication (Etzioni, 1969).
Personal and Socioeconomic Effects
From the standpoint of society as a whole, we can say that women occupy in physical therapy gives them a vital role in the maintenance of people health and welfare. All of that put additional emphasis on the role of women in a society because it will be hardly argued that men, in their most, will successfully compete with women in such qualities as high attention to detail, intuition, and the soft skills including communication.
In diversified communities, the occupation of the physical therapist by woman upgrades her socioeconomic status. It can be explained by the common term of ‘being in the right place,’ which can assist in the talents and the inherent skills uncovering. In this context, such kind of job will, undoubtedly, bring personal satisfaction and motivation to develop professional skills. The profession of a physical therapist will always be in demand, providing women with jobs and financial security.
To my mind, people mostly go to the medical profession being motivated primarily by the emotional gain they will take from caregiving and not by salary and financial benefits. However, society should take the responsibility to remunerate the substantial contribution, which the representatives of the profession make, properly.
Conclusion
Women play an important role in the profession of physical therapy occupying the greatest part of total employed in the field. This fact is explained by the qualities necessary for doing the job well, and women possess these qualities to the substantially greater extent than the men. Overall, we can say that women make an invaluable contribution to the health of the nation.
References
Etzioni, A. (1969). The semi-professions and their organization. New York, USA: The Free Press.
Raz, P., Jensen, G. M., Walter, J. & Drake, M. (1991). Perspectives on gender and professional issues among female physical therapists. PHYS THER, 71, 530-540.