Women Physicians Losers on Medical Pay

Perhaps women physicians should organize or form a union. By every measure, they are paid less than their male counterparts according to the Doximity Physician Compensation Report. This report is the most comprehensive research yet undertaken on physician pay in the United States. It found significant variations in average compensation, across 48 specialties, major cities, and gender. The report examined national, as well as local market trends across U.S. as well as metropolitan statistical areas which is a first in medical labor market analysis.

The physician compensation report is based on data collected from 36,000 licensed physician respondents in the U.S and doctors who practice at least 40 hours a week. Contrary to expectations lower cost cities and rural areas tended to pay their physicians more than did higher cost areas such as New York City, San Francisco and Chicago.

The top five metro areas where physicians are paid the highest average annual salary are: Charlotte, North Carolina ($359,455); Bridgeport, Connecticut ($353,925); Phoenix, Arizona ($351,677); Milwaukee, Wisconsin ($345,831); and Houston, Texas ($345,079).

The five metro areas in which physicians are paid the lowest average annual salary are: Durham, North Carolina ($267,598); Ann Arbor, Michigan. ($272,398); Baltimore, Maryland ($281,005); Charleston, South Carolina ($285,933); and Washington, D.C. ($286,242).

Regardless of the medical specialty in which they practice or the geographic area in which they work, women physicians are at the bottom of every pay scale. Female physicians earn 26.5% or $91,284 less than their male counterparts who are doing the same job. There is no medical specialty identified in the study in which women earn more than men.

There is no medical specialty identified in the study in which women earn more than men. Female neurosurgeons were found to earn over $90,000 less on average per year. There is no place in the United States or its top 50 metropolitan areas where women out-earn men.

The five largest gender wage gaps are found in: Charlotte, North Carolina (33% less or $125,035); Durham, North Carolina (31% less or $90,480); Orlando, Florida (30% less or $107,942); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (30% less or $100,956); and Bridgeport, Connecticut (29% less or $110,582).

There is no place in the United States or in the top 50 metropolitan areas—where women out-earn men.

The specialties with the largest gender wage gap are: Vascular Surgery (20% less or $88,800); Occupational Medicine (20% less or $53,921); Pediatric Endocrinology (20% less or $41,467); Gastroenterology (19% less or $78,490); and Pediatric Rheumatology (19% less or $45,412).

The metro areas in which female physicians are paid the highest average annual salary are: Minneapolis, Minnesota ($290,747); Phoenix, Arizona ($290,536); Milwaukee, Wisconsin ($287,950); Indianapolis, Indiana ($281,987); and Dallas, Texas ($278,825).

The metro areas in which female physicians are paid the lowest average annual salary are: Durham, North Carolina ($205,635); Charleston, South Carolina ($219,112); Ann Arbor, Michigan ($225,004); Baltimore, Maryland ($226,048); and Washington, D.C. ($227,263).

“No matter what happens with health care reform, physicians will remain at the core of our health system. Policymakers and industry leaders must clearly understand how the marketplaces vary for men and women across the country and among medical specialties,” said Chris Whaley, Ph.D., lead author and adjunct assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health.

“Disparities in compensation directly affect the distribution of physicians around the country, which can impact patient care directly.”