Overview
The women who battled prejudice and indifference to become doctors
‘Magnificent oral history’ — Steve Braunias, ReadingRoom
‘This is much more than just a book about women doctors – these stories and times make vivid reading for anybody interested in New Zealand and its people over the years – both female and male’ — Terry Toner, Dusty Shelves
‘This book reverberates with the bravery and tireless work ethic of extraordinary women in the face of absurd levels of prejudice and misogyny.’ — Himali McInnes, Kete Books
In 2025, the year in which the Otago medical school celebrates 150 years, 50 per cent of graduates are women. Back in 1891 when Emily Seideberg, who would go on to become the school’s first woman graduate, applied for entrance it was not at all clear that it would be granted. There was active hostility in many quarters to the very idea that women could be doctors. This book traces the paths of the women who, between the 1880s and 1967 (when the Auckland medical school opened), battled indifference and chauvinism and, later, many of the other challenges that faced women in the professions, to become New Zealand’s first women doctors. Their stories are often remarkable and the contribution to research, medical breakthroughs and improved patient care is to be honoured.
- | Author: Cynthia Farquhar, Michaela Selway
- | Publisher: Massey University Press
- | Publication Date: Jun 05, 2025
- | Number of Pages:
- | Language:
- | Binding: Paperback / softback
- | ISBN-13: 9781991016980
- | ISBN-10: 1991016980
