A majority of male physicians say there is no difference in pay based on gender at their workplace, according to Medscape's latest "Physicians' Views on Gender Discrimination Issues" report. According to the findings, 73 percent of male physicians say they don't see pay discrimination compared to 31 percent of female physicians.
In addition, only 4 percent of male physicians say they have seen gender pay discrimination at both their current and former workplaces, compared to 16 percent of female physicians.
According to the survey, only 5 percent of U.S. physicians rank gender discrimination as a top priority, with 11 percent of women saying so compared to 3 percent of men. Of the 10 social issues in their survey, gender discrimination was rated ninth in physicians' most important issues, trailing gun control, domestic violence and climate change, among others.
Four more findings:
- New England physicians tend to see gender discrimination as an important issue more often, with 10 percent saying so. This is compared to the 5 percent of physicians overall who say gender discrimination as a top social issue.
- According to the survey, 66 percent of female physicians say they or a colleague has experienced workplace discrimination compared with 30 percent of male physicians. In addition, 57 percent of female physicians say they or an acquaintance have faced gender discrimination from patients, compared to 19 percent of male physicians.
- More than 80 percent of female physicians say society has a long way to go to address gender discrimination, compared with 55 percent of men. In addition, 46 percent of male physicians say opportunities are similar for all, regardless of gender, versus 25 percent of women.
- When asked if the current level of gender equality in the United States is acceptable, 11 percent of women said yes compared to 34 percent of men.