About one-third of practicing OB/GYNs in the United States are male, and that number is dropping fast. As of 2021, 66% of attending physicians in obstetrics and gynecology were female, leaving 34% male. Among residents currently in training, the gap is even wider: 85% are women. The specialty has undergone one of the most dramatic gender shifts in all of medicine over the past few decades.
How the Numbers Have Changed
In 1975, only 16% of OB/GYN residents were women. By 1986, women crossed the 50% mark for the first time. That shift has only accelerated since. In 2005, 35% of applicants to OB/GYN residency programs were male. By 2020, that figure had fallen to just 20%. Male faculty representation in academic OB/GYN departments dropped by 15% over roughly the same period.
The decline cuts across all racial and ethnic groups. White men applying to OB/GYN residencies decreased from 35% of the applicant pool in 2010 to 23% in 2020. Black, Hispanic, and Asian male applicants also declined. Meanwhile, the proportion of White women applying rose by 8 percentage points over that window.
Because the pipeline of new male OB/GYNs has narrowed so sharply, the specialty will become even more female-dominated in the coming years. The remaining male practitioners tend to be older and closer to retirement, which will accelerate the trend as they leave practice.
Why Fewer Men Are Entering the Field
Several forces are pushing male medical students away from OB/GYN. The specialty involves intimate exams and deeply personal patient relationships, and some male students report feeling unwelcome or uncomfortable during clinical rotations. Patient preference plays a role too, though perhaps less than people assume. A survey of 264 patients across 13 OB/GYN practices in Connecticut found that two-thirds (66.6%) had no gender preference when choosing their provider, and about 81% said they didn’t think a doctor’s gender affected the quality of care.
Still, even a minority of patients declining male providers can shape a medical student’s experience during rotations. If male students are repeatedly asked to leave the room or sense hesitation from patients, it creates a discouraging environment. Combined with fewer male mentors and role models already in the specialty, this creates a self-reinforcing cycle: fewer men enter, which means fewer male mentors for the next generation, which means even fewer men apply.
How This Compares Internationally
The gender shift isn’t unique to the U.S. In Australia, data from 2016 showed that male OB/GYNs still made up 55% of the workforce, but the age gap tells the real story. Male clinicians averaged 55.6 years old, while their female colleagues averaged 47.2, a difference of more than eight years. That means the Australian specialty is heading in the same direction as the American one, just on a slight delay. As the older, predominantly male cohort retires, women will become the majority there too.
What This Means for Patients
If you prefer a male gynecologist, you can still find one, but it may take more effort depending on where you live. In urban areas with large hospital systems, you’ll likely have options. In smaller practices or rural areas, the pool is shrinking. The trend is particularly noticeable among younger doctors. If your male OB/GYN retires, the physician replacing them will very likely be a woman.
For patients who prefer a female provider, the shift means more choices and shorter wait times in many areas. For those without a strong preference, the practical impact is minimal. The research consistently shows that provider gender doesn’t correlate with quality of care, and the vast majority of patients report being satisfied regardless of whether their OB/GYN is male or female.
The broader implication is that OB/GYN is becoming one of the most gender-imbalanced specialties in medicine, alongside fields like orthopedic surgery (which skews heavily male). Whether that imbalance matters depends on perspective, but the numbers are clear: the male OB/GYN is an increasingly rare figure in American healthcare, and every year the trend moves further in the same direction.