Gender Pay Gap Hits Top Docs

It seems that even after years of training and significant career accomplishment,  top femalephysicians still can’t escape the gender wage gap.

By observing elite members of a profession who chose academic careers as opposed to jobs more lucrative private sphere and taking into account as many measureable factors as possible, researchers expected to see a minimal difference in men and women’s pay. Instead, they found that a woman will earn over $360,000 less in her 30-year career than a man working the same hours, with the same qualifications. “Here in Michigan, that buys a house,” said lead study author Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil. “Anywhere, it sends a kid to college.”

One of the more common explanations for the wage gap “motherhood”. Surprisingly, however, “motherhood” turns out not to be a significant factor at all. Mothers and women without children both experienced comparably lower pay than men.  That often used “excuse” doesn’t hold up when scrutinized.

What does matter are issues such as specialization, awards and promotions. But, the study was able to take these into account – concluding that in situations where men and women similar specialization, training, and accomplishments, gender definitely affects wages as women received less compensation that their male counterparts. It’s a fact all women should be aware of when negotiating their pay check.

Dr. Jagsi was careful to point out that she did not believe that the gender bias was conscious:  “Increasingly, we see institutional leaders who want male and female faculty to succeed.” Instead, she points to psychological studies, including the major report by the United States Academy of Sciences, that have shown that both men and women tend to underestimate women’s work and abilities. This kind of statistical discrimination also leads employers to see women as more likely to take on greater household duties or take time off when they become mothers, despite the fact that within the sample women were proportionally less likely to have children.

Another challenge confronting female physicians is their relative reluctance to negotiate pay increases when compared to their male counterparts. Even though male and female bosses want to treat all employees fairly and equitably when it comes to compensation, women seem to be at a psychological disadvantage. As a result, female physicians and all working women will need to be more concerned and vigilant about how they’re perceived.

…Read the article at Even Women Doctors Can’t Escape The Pay Gap – Forbes