BACKGROUND: There is limited information available regarding the impact of the feminization of the pharmacy workforce in Canada. METHODS: Using data from a cross-sectional mailed survey, we examined gender differences among 289 pharmacists who graduated between 1990 and 2007 from pharmacy school in Newfoundland and Labrador. RESULTS: Of the 114 male and 175 female respondents, a larger proportion of females than males graduated after 2000 (21.1% vs 13.3%), worked part-time (8.6% vs 1.8%), were staff pharmacists (66.3% vs 47.4%), earned $70,000 or less per year (28.0% vs 17.7%) and rated opportunities for job advancement as not important in choosing their current job (22.5% vs 12.3%). Female pharmacists also worked fewer hours than their male counterparts (mean 37.6 vs 41.3 hours). These differences were more pronounced among older female pharmacists (graduated in the 1990s). CONCLUSION: Gender and age should be considered when predicting an effective supply of pharmacists to meet current and future workforce demands.
BACKGROUND: There is limited information available regarding the impact of the feminization of the pharmacy workforce in Canada. METHODS: Using data from a cross-sectional mailed survey, we examined gender differences among 289 pharmacists who graduated between 1990 and 2007 from pharmacy school in Newfoundland and Labrador. RESULTS: Of the 114 male and 175 female respondents, a larger proportion of females than males graduated after 2000 (21.1% vs 13.3%), worked part-time (8.6% vs 1.8%), were staff pharmacists (66.3% vs 47.4%), earned $70,000 or less per year (28.0% vs 17.7%) and rated opportunities for job advancement as not important in choosing their current job (22.5% vs 12.3%). Female pharmacists also worked fewer hours than their male counterparts (mean 37.6 vs 41.3 hours). These differences were more pronounced among older female pharmacists (graduated in the 1990s). CONCLUSION: Gender and age should be considered when predicting an effective supply of pharmacists to meet current and future workforce demands.