GMC update on tackling discrimination and inequality in medicine

The update will focus on the General Medical Council's (GMC) targets to tackle disadvantage and discrimination which are:

• eliminate disproportionate fitness to practice referrals by 2026
• eliminate inequality in medical education in 2031
• improve the representation and progression of ethical minority staff at the GMC by 2026

While there has been positive progress made towards some of the GMC's targets, it’s clear there’s more to do. This year’s data shows: 

• The disparity in fitness to practise referrals from employers in relation to a doctor’s ethnicity and place of qualification continues to reduce. Forecasts show that, in principle, this could continue to a point where there is no disproportionality in referrals from employers. 
• The attainment gap in specialty training is narrowing, but measures for earlier stages of training do not show improvement. However, there’s been valuable progress in building the evidence base around key interventions that could make a real difference if scaled up.
• While progress is being made to improve diversity and inclusivity within the GMC there’s more to do to meet our target to increase representation in senior management positions. 

The report in full can be found on the GMC web page.

We would love to hear your views on this topic, please contact our medical pay and workforce team if you would like to share your views.