As a matter of historical fact, in the UK, women were first accepted into medical schools in 1874; and the first PhDs in the UK were awarded in 1917. In both cases gender-neutral titles were used right from the start.Professor and Doctor, whilst gender neutral in current use, are actually the male titles. It's just that women have adopted them in their masculine forms.
In Germany the custom is different. There you are "Herr Doktor" or "Frau Doktor" as appropriate. But not here.
Ultimately the word "doctor" is Latin for "teacher". It is masculine in Latin, and the word "doctrina", meaning teaching, is feminine. It is a mistake to read too much into gender in languages where gender-neutral words have genders for grammatical purposes.
Is it "posh" to have a doctorate? In the UK
In other words, you earn them by hard work, not by the social class of your parents or by speaking received pronunciation.Doctorates are awarded to students who have demonstrated:
- the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, through original research or other advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the discipline, and merit publication;
- a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of an academic discipline or area of professional practice;
- the general ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline, and to adjust the project design in the light of unforeseen problems;
- a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry.
— Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Annex
You have to have a good first degree to get onto a PhD course. Unfortunately university fees are becoming so high that I fear that getting that first degree is going to regress to being the preserve of the rich.
Jane x.
