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A survey of 10,865 full-time physicians found that in terms of total compensation, female physicians earn just 78 cents for each $1 that male physicians earn—a gender pay gap of 22%. In actual dollars, female physicians reported average annual compensation of $354,000, compared to the $463,000 for male physicians. The gap in pay among physicians is substantially wider than the gap recorded in other industries across the U.S. labor market, according to Merit Health, which conducted the survey. It’s logical to assume that the gap can be attributed to female physicians’ choice of specialty or other career factors, but after controlling for specialty, employer type, bonuses, locations, schedules, shifts, and time on-call, a 7% gap still remains. Gender bias is the most likely reason for this unexplained gap, according to the authors. However, area of specialty does drive the largest portion of pay discrepancy, accounting for 11 cents of the 22 cent overall compensation gap. Looking specifically at emergency medicine, women earn $380,000 annually compared to men who earn $416,000. The earnings comparison between women and men practicing in family medicine is $285,000 compared to $316,000, respectively. Based on this data, a female physician may earn as much as $3.3 million less than a male physician in total compensation by the end of her career.
Policy factors: Separately, the American Academy of Pediatrics this week issued a new policy statement on gender pay equality, noting that “Contributing factors include systemic bias; unequal access to mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching; unequal promotion to leadership roles; part-time work; and inadequate parental leave policies.” The statement discusses strategies for promoting fair, equitable compensation in pediatric medicine.