By Naomi Olson
In the medical world, female physicians earn dramatically less than their male peers. This is true regardless of geography or medical specialties. There are ample studies that prove that this gender gap exists, but there is less shown about why it exists or even how to go about fixing it. With women making up close to half of the medical graduates, remediating the gender pay gap is critical.
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What Causes Gender Pay Gaps in Medicine?
On average, women's salaries in the medical field are 8% less than their male counterparts. While some may say this can be attributed to poor physician salary negotiation, the reality is much different. This gap exists in all fields, at all levels, and in every region in which women practice. Let’s take a close look at what causes such disparities in pay and how we can work towards wage equity in the medical field.
Homecare & Parental Responsibilities
Despite the advancement in transforming modern views on gender roles, women are still the ones that bear the brunt of taking care of the home. Women more frequently need to take additional time off of work for maternity leave, child illness, and other homecare duties. This often results in lower physician starting salaries paired with more flexible hours. Men on the other hand are given higher upfront pay with the understanding they won’t need similar concessions for home care duties.
Slower Academic Advancement
It is no secret that women tend to advance slower in medical academia than their male counterparts. This is due to various factors such as fewer opportunities, less support, or other gender-specific issues. Following graduation, women tend to be offered non-partnership and per diem positions more often than their male counterparts.
Minority Tax
Another common but less acknowledged reason for such glaring gender pay gap issues is the “minority tax”. This is when employers heap on additional responsibilities due to a person’s sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender. In healthcare, one example is that female medical professionals are expected to handle more tasks or more complex work than their male counterparts. The main problem is that while men would be paid more for the extra load, women are not given pay increases or even recognition for their extra effort.
General Bias and Discrimination
In healthcare and in other fields, pay inequality is simply based purely on bias or discrimination. Too often those in power look down on women in the field assuming that they are less qualified than their male counterparts solely based on gender. While this has been eased marginally in recent years, it is far from enough. The idea that women can be innovators, leaders, and medical professionals at the top of their field is still hard for older generations to accept.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap in Healthcare
Closing the pay gap between men and women physicians is easier said than done. However, some things can be done to help ease the situation and close the pay gap. To start, women physicians should start coding and billing in line with their services. Demanding workplace transparency regarding salaries is another way to help close the gap. Encouraging employers to remove patient satisfaction scores when creating salary determinations will also go a long way toward encouraging gender pay equity in the healthcare field.
Policies that attract more women to higher positions and encourage men to take middle occupations will also help. The motherhood pay gap is one of the biggest issues in the healthcare field and the only way to address it is through strict policies against pay discrimination. It will take a multi-pronged approach to truly affect systematic bias towards women physicians, but with a concentrated effort, pay equity is within reach.
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About the author:
My name is Naomi Olsen.
I am a CFP® (Certified Financial Planner).
I have a severe phobia of bridges and dirty balance sheets.
Hobbies: blogging, meditation, and loving Bull Market (my dog).
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