Representation of gender and people of color among healthcare professionals in medical comics - a document analysis

• Published in: GMS journal for medical education Vol. 42; no. 1; p. Doc2
• Main Authors: Amin Parsa, Cyrus, Hirsch, Johanna, Schüttpelz-Brauns, Katrin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany German Medical Science GMS Publishing House 2025
• Subjects: Document Analysis; Education, Medical - methods; Female; gender role; Germany; Health Personnel - education; Health Personnel - psychology; Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; medical comic; people of color; Sex Factors; stereotyping; Germany; people of color; document analysis; gender role; stereotyping; medical comic
• DOI: 10.3205/zma001726
• ISSN: 2366-5017

Medical teaching uses medical comics, which are combinations of images and text that depict content from everyday life in the healthcare sector. Over- or under-representation of certain people in certain roles can convey subject-specific role models and stereotypes that can influence individual training pathways. This study examines the proportion of genders and people of colour represented in comic characters, the professional roles to which they can be assigned, and the share of speech they are given. The analysis included 995 German-language comics from anthologies and textbook series, with 2688 depicted characters from the period between 2002 and 2019. Criteria for categorizing roles, read gender and people of color were developed iteratively. The evaluation was carried out in a descriptive manner. In the overall evaluation, the quantitatively dominant read gender was male in the roles examined (55%-88%), with especially high representation in the physician's role (88%). Only the nursing staff were predominantly female (75%). The proportion of people of color in the roles analyzed was negligible (0-2%). The share of speech did not differ. Medical comics used in teaching should have a balanced gender ratio, consciously depict people of color and take demographic conditions into account. This should help to create an environment in which students base their career choices on their personal skills and goals rather than on aspects such as gender or identity as people of color.