Male and female physicians differ in what specialties they practice, whether they are self-employed or work for a hospital or medical group, and how much they earn, according to the 2015 Medscape Physician Compensation Report.
Highlighted below are eight things to know about female physicians.
- Nearly three quarters (72 percent) of women and 59 percent of men surveyed work for a salary. Slightly more than a third of men (36 percent) and about a quarter (23 percent) of women are self-employed.
- Among self-employed physicians, men earn 23 percent more on average than their female colleagues at $324,000 compared to $259,000.
- Among physicians employed by hospitals and medical groups, men earn, on average, 22 percent more than their female colleagues at $249,000 compared to $203,000.
- Some of the pay discrepancy between genders may be because women tend to work shorter weeks and are less likely to work in higher-paying specialties. That said, the overall percentage difference in pay between men and women has decreased slightly since the 2011 Medscape report, from 28 percent in 2011 to 24 percent this year.
- Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of female physicians surveyed work part-time compared with 13 percent of male physicians.
- The specialties with the most female physicians include:
- Obstetrics, gynecology and women's health — 50 percent of OB/GYNs are women
- Pediatrics — 50 percent
- Diabetes and endocrinology — 44 percent
- The specialties with the fewest female physicians include:
- Urology — 8 percent
- Orthopedics — 9 percent
- Cardiology — 12 percent
- For men, being very good at their job is the most rewarding aspect of their job (34 percent men versus 31 percent women), whereas woman find the gratitude and relationships with patients to be the biggest source of satisfaction (37 percent women versus 32 percent men).
The Medscape report includes responses from more than 19,500 physicians across 26 specialties.
More articles on compensation:
Which physician specialties feel most, least fairly compensated?
10 states where physicians earn the most
3 highest and lowest earning physician specialties