"...many of these women held the same junior or assistant positions for the duration of their careers without ever getting promoted."

At the end of the war the units of the Scottish Women's Hospitals gradually closed and staff returned home to continue with their careers. Although these hospitals were borne from the suffrage movement and women were subsequently able to prove themselves as practitioners in fields previously restricted to men, career opportunities remained limited for women after the war. 

Prior to the war many of the licensed female practitioners pursued careers in specialties with obvious ties to women, for example gynaecology, obstetrics, and public health. After the war they returned to these specialist fields, but few were able to gain senior clinical posts.

Women were faced with many obstacles that complicated career progression. One continued issue was gaining fellowship of a Royal College, which was a pre-requisite for senior clinical posts. For example, the first female Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow was admitted in 1912. The admission of the second female fellow would not be until 1923. All Royal Colleges in the UK have similar histories, with women restricted to special fellowships with less rights and privileges than those of men [1]. Only a handful of women who were part of the Scottish Women's Hospitals during the war obtained fellowship to one of the British and Irish Royal Colleges of Physicians and/or Surgeons. 

Of the women who served with the Scottish Women's Hospitals, very few obtained consultancy positions."Many of these women held the same junior or assistant positions for the duration of their careers without ever getting promoted." [2] One exception was Anne Louise McIlroy who became the first female medical professor in the United Kingdom when she was appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the London School of Medicine for Women in 1921. 

Today, women hold various clinical positions in various specialties of medicine and surgery. They stand on the shoulders of those that came before them, who served, worked, and fought for equality.