There are more female doctors than male doctors in the UK for the first time, figures show.
The General Medical Council (GMC) said the number of women on its register had overtaken men for the first time, although numbers vary across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Some 164,440 women are registered with a licence to practise, making up 50.04% of the register, compared with 164,195 men, the medical regulator said.
One of the driving factors has been the rising number of women joining UK medical schools, it added.
Since 2018/19, there have been more female than male medical students in each of the four nations, the regulator said.
Its figures show there were hardly any female doctors more than 150 years ago when the register first opened in 1859.
This remained the case for decades but started rising from the turn of the century, with a rapid increase from the 1970s.
Currently more women than men work as doctors in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with fewer female doctors in England and Wales, the GMC said.
The medical specialties with the most women doctors are obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics. Surgery, ophthalmology and emergency medicine have the least women.
The GMC said there are also more female GPs in the UK, with 57.7% of the workforce made up of female doctors.
Professor Dame Carrie MacEwen, chairwoman of the GMC and a consultant ophthalmologist, said the demographics of the medical workforce are “rapidly changing, and that diversity will benefit patients”.
She continued: “But women training for careers in medicine continue to face challenges that must be acknowledged and tackled.
“And for those women already working as doctors there is still work to do to create supportive and inclusive workplaces, and to ensure they have access to progression opportunities, including leadership roles, so that they can have long and fulfilling careers in medicine.”
Figures from the GMC’s training survey about discrimination in the workplace found 9% of female respondents reported unwelcome sexual comments, or advances causing embarrassment, distress or offence, compared with just 4% of men.
Dr Latifa Patel, chairwoman of the British Medical Association representative body, called the development a “significant milestone for the profession and for patients”.
“Retaining women doctors in the workplace, in the NHS, and happy and fulfilled in their roles, must be a priority,” she added.
Professor Scarlett McNally, president of the Medical Women’s Federation and a surgeon, said: “This huge change should be celebrated.”
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