• Trevor Lambert, Geraldine Surman, and Michael Goldacre.
• UK Medical Careers Research Group, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK trevor.lambert@dph.ox.ac.uk.
• J R Soc Med. 2014 Oct 1; 107 (10): 398-408.

ObjectivesTo seek doctors' views about the NHS as an employer, our surveys about doctors' career intentions and progression, undertaken between 1999 and 2013, also asked whether the NHS was, in their view, a good 'equal opportunities' employer for women doctors, doctors from ethnic minority groups and doctors with disabilities.Design And SettingSurveys undertaken in the UK by mail and Internet.ParticipantsUK medical graduates in selected graduation years between 1993 and 2012.Main Outcome MeasuresRespondents were asked to rate their level of agreement with three statements starting 'The NHS is a good equal opportunities employer for…' and ending 'women doctors', 'doctors from ethnic minorities' and 'doctors with disabilities'.ResultsOf first-year doctors surveyed in 2013, 3.6% (78/2158) disagreed that the NHS is a good equal opportunities employer for women doctors (1.7% of the men and 4.7% of the women); 2.2% (44/1968) disagreed for doctors from ethnic minorities (0.9% of white doctors and 5.8% of non-white doctors) and 12.6% (175/1387) disagreed for doctors with disabilities. Favourable perceptions of the NHS in these respects improved substantially between 1999 and 2013; among first-year doctors of 2000-2003, combined, the corresponding percentages of disagreement were 23.5% for women doctors, 23.1% for doctors from ethnic minorities and 50.6% for doctors with disabilities.ConclusionsPositive views about the NHS as an equal opportunities employer have increased in recent years, but the remaining gap in perception of this between women and men, and between ethnic minority and white doctors, is a concern.© The Royal Society of Medicine.

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