Women MDs Lose Ground in Starting Salaries

Feb. 6, 2010— -- Among new physicians entering the work force, women earned almost $17,000 a year less than their male counterparts -- almost regardless of which specialty they picked -- according to an analysis of starting salaries over a 10-year period.

In fact, the analysis of starting salaries for more than 8,000 physicians found that the pay gap between men and women increased almost fivefold -- from $3,600 in 1999 to $16,819 in 2008.

The disparity could not be explained by the choice of specialty, type of practice, or working hours, Anthony T. Lo Sasso and coauthors wrote in the February issue of Health Affairs.

Read this story on www.medpagetoday.com.

"It is not surprising to say that women physicians make less than male physicians because women traditionally choose lower-paying jobs in primary care fields or they choose to work fewer hours," Lo Sasso, of the University Illinois School of Public Health in Chicago, said in a statement.

"What is surprising is that even when we account for specialty and hours and other factors, we see this growing unexplained gap in starting salary. The same gap exists for women in primary care as it does in specialty fields."

The findings came from a survey of 8,233 graduating residents and fellows in New York -- 4,918 men and 3,315 women -- all of whom accepted jobs during the study period. Consistent with national trends, women accounted for an increasing proportion of new physicians during the period, from 38 percent in 1999 to 43 percent in 2008.

Over the decade, starting salaries for male physicians averaged $187,385 a year compared with $158,727 for women.

Comparing starting salaries at the beginning and end of the review period, the authors found that new female physicians earned an average of $151,600 in 1999 versus $173,400 for men, a 12.5 percent difference. By 2008, the gap had increased to almost 17 percent, $174,000 for women doctors versus $209,300 for men.

Analysis by specialty showed that men started at higher salaries than women in all but two specialties -- gastroenterology, where women started at $209,392 compared with $206,158 for men and general surgery, where new female physicians held an advantage of $196,721 to $185,881.