Who benefits from the white coat? Gender differences in occupational citizenship among Asian-Indian doctors

Abstract

Abstract In the US system of social hierarchy, Asian Indians experience a lower social status than do US-born whites. In the US system of occupational stratification, physicians rank very high. Asian-Indian physicians, therefore, enjoy a high social status only when others recognize their occupation. There is, however, a gender variable. Female Asian-Indian doctors receive less respect, as they are perceived as subverting masculine assumptions of social superiority over women. This conclusion is based on experiences reported in interviews with fifty-two first- and second-generation Asian-Indian doctors in Southern California.