Gender sensitivity in medical curricula

Both sex--the biologic aspects of being female or male--and gender--the cultural roles and meanings ascribed to each sex--are determinants of health. Medical education, research and practice have all suffered from a lack of attention to gender and a limited awareness of the effects of the sex-role stereotypes prevalent in our society. The Women's Health Interschool Curriculum Committee of Ontario has developed criteria for assessing the gender sensitivity of medical curricula. In this article, the effects of medicine's historical blindness to gender are explored, as are practical approaches to creating curricula whose content, language and process are gender-sensitive. Specific areas addressed include ensuring that women and men are equally represented, when appropriate, that men are not portrayed as the prototype of normal (and women as deviant), that language is inclusive and that women's health and illness are not limited to reproductive function. By eliminating or at least addressing the subtle and often unintentional gender stereotyping in lecture material, illustrations and problems used in problem-based learning, medical educators can undertake a much-needed transformation of curriculum.