Written by Kimi Dunbar
Spoon Feed
Female pediatricians report an annual income that is only 93% of their male counterparts, even when adjusting for characteristics such as specialty, work hours, etc.
It’s time for change
This study examined income disparities between female and male pediatricians using data from the Pediatrician Life and Career Experience Study (2017–2022). The longitudinal design analyzed self-reported annual incomes, adjusting for factors like clinical focus and work hours. Female pediatricians consistently earned 93% of their male counterparts’ income, equating to an $11,000 average annual gap, with no significant change over time. Key factors associated with increased income included continuous full-time work, more hours worked, and administrative responsibilities. Limitations include reliance on self-reported income, potential unmeasured variables, and combining subspecialty categories.
This, unsurprisingly, confirms that we haven’t done much to change the gender pay gap. This is especially disheartening in pediatrics, where the majority of physicians are women. This is a complex problem, and it’s difficult to know what the root of it really is. Multiple prior studies have shown that women have more home responsibilities than men, and that women are more likely to choose positions with part-time hours and flexibility. Economist Claudia Goldin suggests that women suffer from gaps in earning and career potential because the jobs with the highest potential are “greedy”, requiring long hours and on-call availability, something which is less practical for a woman with increased familial responsibilities. Goldin posits that the choice for one parent to have more “on-call” parent responsibilities limits that partner’s career and earnings. The cohort studied by the authors are “PLACES” participants – pediatricians recruited from two separate residency cohorts (those who completed residency in 2009-2011 and 2002-2004). Thus, this study by nature excludes participants who graduated residency earlier than 2002 or after 2011. It’s possible that there is more (or less) equity for pediatricians who have graduated residency in the past 10 years. It would be interesting to see what the pay gap is for starting salaries in this group.
Source
Differences in Pediatricians’ Income by Sex Over Time. Pediatrics. 2024 Nov 1;154(5):e2024066240. doi: 10.1542/peds.2024-066240. PMID: 39468944
