In a surgical residency program that does not allow maternity leave, a female resident becomes pregnant and takes three weeks off to have her baby. A male resident misses a similar amount of time due to an accident. Later, only the female resident is required to make up the time missed. Is this an example of institutional discrimination?

Question

In a surgical residency program that does not allow maternity leave, a female resident becomes pregnant and takes three weeks off to have her baby.  A male resident misses a similar amount of time due to an accident.  Later, only the female resident is required to make up the time missed.  Is this an example of institutional discrimination?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecba2d_0d5b_d7df_a3bf_399dd846d9ba_MD0008_00 Unlike prejudice (negative or positive ideas/beliefs about a specific group), discrimination involves actions that negatively impact specific groups. Individual discrimination occurs at the person-to-person level (eg, a male manager refusing to hire females). Institutional discrimination occurs when social institutions have systematic policies and procedures that result in unfair treatment of individuals based on their group membership. This scenario is an example of institutional discrimination because the policy disadvantages females but not males; therefore, it demonstrates unfair treatment of female surgical residents at the institutional level. These types of policies often have long-term consequences, such as fewer women choosing to pursue surgery or completing surgical residencies, resulting in far fewer female surgeons than male surgeons. (Choices A and B) Any systematic policy that negatively impacts only one social group is discriminatory. The policy in this example, which requires females to make up time for maternity leave but does not require males to make up time for rehabilitation following an accident, is an example of institutional discrimination. (Choice C) Medicalization is the process of defining and characterizing a given condition or behavior as a medical illness, which can have both positive (eg, funding for research) and negative (eg, stigmatization) consequences. The medicalization of pregnancy does not explain why this policy demonstrates institutional discrimination. Educational objective: Discrimination involves actions that negatively affect certain social groups (eg, a certain race or gender). Individual discrimination involves person-to-person interactions that involve unfair treatment (eg, male manager refusing to hire females). Institutional discrimination involves policies at the organizational, rather than individual, level that result in the unfair treatment of certain people based on group membership.

In a Surgical Residency Program That Does Not Allow Maternity