studies

Even Female Doctors Earn 25 Percent Less Than Their Male Colleagues

Photo: Karin Dreyer/Corbis

Observers of the so-called “End of Men” like to note that women will soon outnumber men in medical schools. But even as female doctors become less punch line, more norm, the wage gap between male and female physicians has grown, according to a study from USC’s Seth A. Seabury, Ph.D. In a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association, he reported that from 1987 to 1990, male physicians earned 20 percent (or $33,840) more than female physicians. Things got a little better in the late nineties, but by 2006–2010, the gap had grown to 25.3 percent (or $56,019). Yes, the authors adjusted for hours worked to avoid “overstating gender differences in earnings” if female physicians were opting out for pregnancy or to take care of children.

Even Female Doctors Earn Below Male Colleagues