Practices

In internal medicine, female doctors earn an average of $50K less than males

By Joanne Finnegan Aug 7, 2018 2:04pm
Physician Compensation Physician Practice Salaries American College of Physicians

Here’s another survey to add to the pile of those showing women doctors are still earning substantially less than their male counterparts.

A survey of internal medicine doctors found that the median annual salary for men was on average $50,000 higher than for women, with women earning 80 cents for every dollar earned by men. The research by the American College of Physicians (ACP) was published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The report, which looked at physician compensation by gender in internal medicine, called for gender equity in physician compensation and career advancement. “While actionable steps have been taken to improve gender diversity in the medical workforce, very real barriers to equity in physician compensation still exist,” said Ana María López, M.D., ACP’s president.

“ACP strongly supports any efforts to eliminate the gender inequities that exist in compensation and career advancement opportunities for females in the internal medicine profession. Our convenience sample study adds to the body of literature of physician gender pay inequity and serves as a call to action to find solutions to correct and prevent these inequities,” she said in a statement about the report.

RELATED: In Maryland, female doctors’ salaries about 50% less than male colleagues'

Just last week, the Maryland State Medical Society released survey data that found that male physicians in that state earn $335,000 a year on average, compared to $224,000 for female physicians—a difference of almost 50%.

A separate Doximity study earlier this year found that the gender gap increased nationally as female doctors earned 27.7% less, or an average of $105,000, than their male counterparts.

RELATED: Pay gap widens for women physicians; earnings average $105K less than men

The ACP conducted a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative panel of its nonstudent members in the U.S. and found that female internists earn less whether they are working as internal medicine specialists, hospitalists or subspecialists. The disparities existed even when controlling for specialty, number of hours worked and practice characteristics. Female doctors earned less than men in every specialty, the research found, ranging from a salary difference of $29,000 for internal medicine specialists to $45,000 for subspecialists.

This isn’t the first time the ACP has highlighted the disparity in physician compensation and career advancement. In April, the group said with more women doctors in the workforce, it’s time to address the issue and published a position paper that outlined ways to achieve gender equity.

The paper called for the adoption of equitable compensation policies in all organizations that employ physicians, investment in leadership development, negotiation and career development programs and parental and family leave policies.

Physician Compensation Physician Practice Salaries American College of Physicians Annals of Internal Medicine Doximity Hospitals Finance