A study by the nonpartisan research institute RAND Corp., revealed that while women are increasingly represented in anesthesiology, their pay is still nearly 30 percent less than their male peers, according to a Kaiser Health News report.
Here are five key takeaways from the study, as presented by KHN.
1. In 2012, women took home an average salary of $313,000, while their male counterparts took home a $404,000 paycheck. Translated hourly, this means male anesthesiologists make $20 more per hour.
2. Women anesthesiologists under age 36 working in group practices earned about 7 percent less than their male peers, even when controlling for age, experience, hours and type of employer, according to the report. That translates to a difference of about $8 an hour.
3. Women work an average of six hours less per week than their male counterparts, according to the report, and are three times more likely to work part-time than men.
4. However, researchers found being a mother was not the common denominator for part-time work. Instead, being married was found to be a better predictor of work time. According to the report, of married anesthesiologists, the women worked less on average than the men.
5. Co-author of the study and RAND policy researcher Lindsay Daugherty, PhD, told KHN the study does not necessarily imply these gaps in pay are due to institutional gender discrimination. She said it may be that women prefer working in hospital environments — which generally pay lower, fixed salaries — because it can be more flexible, according to the report.
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