Gender-based pay disparities and discrimination in medicine
Recent survey reveals that women still experience a great amount of gender bias in medicine.
The healthcare recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins recently conducted a survey on discrimination issues to 43,000 women practitioners, of whom 429 responded. A summary of the results follows, with an emphasis on primary care.Â
Despite steady increases in the number of women graduating from medical school and practicing medicine, gender bias in pay and working conditions remains a significant problem in medicine. The healthcare recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins recently sent a survey on these issues to 43,000 women practitioners, of whom 429 responded. A summary of the results follows, with an emphasis on primary care.
What explains the gender pay gap among physicians? Here are the five reasons women in primary care most often cited as being “very’ or “somewhat” important in explaining the pay difference:
• 94 percent said employers unconsciously discriminate against female physicians
• 83 percent said female physicians aren’t as aggressive/adept at salary negotiations as male physicians
• 80 percent said female physicians spend more time with their patients than male physicians
• 74 percent said employers consciously discriminate against female physicians
• 71 percent said fewer female than male physicians are self-employed
Regardless of specialty, gender bias is a frequent source of demoralization and conflict. Asked about its impact, survey respondents answered as follows:
73% said they feel a diminished sense of career satisfaction/morale
56% said it has caused verbal or other forms of conflict with an administrator, patient, or colleague
44% said it has caused them to look for a different practice setting
32% said it has caused them to consider early retirement
29% said it has caused them to rethink their choice of career