Male registered nurses earn, on average, more than $5,000 more than their female counterparts, according to a study published in JAMA.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco looked at salaries of male and female nurses from 1998 through 2013 taken from representative surveys. The surveys showed male RN salaries were higher than female RN salaries during every year, and they found no narrowing of the salary gap over time.
They estimated that the overall adjusted earnings difference between men and women serving as RNs was $5,148.
More detailed statistics are shown below:
- The gender pay gap was $7,678 in ambulatory settings
- The pay gap was $3,873 in hospital settings
- The gap was present in all specialties except orthopedics
- Chronic care had the smallest pay gap, at $3,792
- Cardiology had the highest gap, at $6,034
"The roles of RNs are expanding with implementation of the Affordable Care Act and emphasis on team-based care delivery," the study authors wrote. "A salary gap by gender is especially important in nursing because this profession is the largest in healthcare and is predominately female, affecting approximately 2.5 million women. These results may motivate nurse employers, including physicians, to examine their pay structures and act to eliminate inequities."