In Pakistan, unemployed female doctors number rises to 35%. A significant challenge exists regarding the employment of female medical professionals, despite the country’s urgent demand for qualified healthcare practitioners. Interestingly, this issue arises in a nation where the government invests substantial resources in subsidizing medical education at public universities.
Unemployed Female Doctors Stats
Recent statistics reveal that approximately 35% is the percentage of unemployed female doctors in Pakistan. These findings stem from a nationwide research project conducted jointly by Gallup Pakistan and PRIDE, drawing on data from the Labour Force Survey 2020-21 and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. This research focuses on the labor market, with a particular emphasis on female medical graduates, and aims to inform policymaking in the country.
Pakistan is currently facing a severe shortage of qualified doctors, yet paradoxically, over 36,000 female doctors are either unemployed or have chosen to abstain from the workforce for various reasons.
The survey highlights that there are a total of 104,974 female medical graduates in Pakistan. Among them, 68,209 (65%) are actively employed in both private and public medical facilities. However, a significant portion, comprising 15,619 (14.9%), remains unemployed female doctors, and 21,146 (20.1%) are entirely outside the labor force.
It’s worth noting that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) reports that since its establishment in 1947, Pakistan has produced around 200,000 doctors, with half of them being women.
A prevalent issue among female doctors is their underutilization in the workforce. Many of these doctors have received their education at public sector universities, where the government subsidizes their education with substantial funds. Despite this investment, one in three female doctors is not actively practicing, resulting in an approximate loss of Rs200 billion in current value, given the investment in almost 50,000 unemployed female doctors.
Dr. Shahid Naeem, Director of Policy Research at PRIDE, points out that one in every five medical graduates opts to remain outside the labor force. Most of these graduates are married, indicating a societal trend of pursuing medical education primarily to secure favorable marriages. Dr. Naeem suggests that the government should reconsider its seat allocation policies, especially in public sector medical colleges, to ensure a return on investment.
These findings also align with the concept of ‘doctor brides,’ a prevalent phenomenon in Pakistan, where families encourage their daughters to pursue medical education to enhance their prospects of securing advantageous marriages.
The survey also provides a regional breakdown of employment patterns among these doctors, revealing that approximately 28% and 72% of Pakistan’s total medical graduates reside in rural and urban areas, respectively.
In conclusion, the survey underscores the need for targeted policy interventions to enhance employment opportunities for medical graduates, particularly in rural areas where unemployment rates are higher. This research encompasses female medical graduates holding MBBS, BDS, MS/MSc, MPhil, or PhD degrees in any medical field and is based on data collected from nearly 99,900 households across Pakistan, providing district-level representative results for the first time.
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