Among physicians, men on average earned $400,000 in 2023, about 29% more than their female counterparts, according to one new survey.
Medscape published "A Gender Gap That Defies Explanation: Medscape Female Physician Compensation Report 2024" on Oct. 25. The survey polled 7,000 physicians across more than 29 specialties from Oct. 2, 2023, to Jan. 16, 2024.
Seven other findings from the report:
1. In primary care, male physicians on average earned $295,000 in 2023 while women earned $253,000. This represents a 17% gender gap compared to 19% the previous year.
2. Among various specialties, however, the average increase in pay was greater for men, and the gap with their female counterparts was 31% in 2023 compared to 27% the previous year.
3. Female physicians on average earned the following in 2023 in a sample of six specialties:
- Anesthesiology: $406,000
- OB-GYN: $334,000
- Psychiatry: $293,000
- Internal medicine: $257,000
- Family medicine: $249,000
- Pediatrics: $246,000
4. The gender pay gap consistently worsened for female physicians in the survey through their late 40s (when it reached 50.5% in favor of men) until just before age 50 when it began to narrow.
5. The share of female physicians who felt fairly paid, given their work demands, was 44%.
6. About 12% of female physicians said the amount they could earn was the "main factor" or a "leading factor" when they first picked a specialty, compared to 20% of men.
7. About 56% of female physicians said they had the opportunity to earn an incentive bonus based on established performance criteria. Male physicians reported about the same opportunity.