Over the past 20 years, the gap in pay between male and female physicians has widened, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers with the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and Harvard Medical School in Boston used data from the government's March Current Population Survey from 1987 to 2010. They found that the earnings of male and female physicians, adjusted for hours worked and years of experience, grew further apart. From 1987 to 1990, male physicians earned almost $34,000 more than their female counterparts. However, from 2006 to 2010, that gap ballooned to $56,000.
The findings mirror those of other studies from the Journal of the American Medical Association and Health Affairs.
Researchers said the study was still limited because the data they used did not factor in specialty, practice type, volume and payer mix, which could alter their findings. They also said the issue warrants further study because the results may indicate female physicians do not have the same opportunities to enter the higher-paying physician specialties.
"While it is important to study gender differences in earnings after accounting for factors such as specialty choice and practice type, it is equally important to understand overall unadjusted gender differences in earnings," the researchers wrote. "This is because specialty and practice choices may be due to not only preferences of female physicians but also unequal opportunities."
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