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ObjectivesTo estimate the gender gap in hourly wages earned by medical specialists in their main jobs after controlling for age, number of hours worked and medical specialty.DesignObservational using governmental administrative and survey data.SettingNew Zealand public employed medical workforce.Participants3510 medical specialists who were employed for wages or a salary in a medical capacity by a New Zealand district health board (DHB) at the time of the March 2013 census, whose census responses on hours worked were complete and can be matched to tax records of earnings to construct hourly earnings.Main outcome measuresHourly earnings in the DHB job calculated from usual weekly hours worked reported in the census and wage or salary earnings paid in the month recorded in administrative tax data.ResultsIn their DHB employment, female specialists earned on average 12.5% lower hourly wages than their male counterparts of the same age, in the same specialty, who work the same number of hours (95% CI 9.9% to 15.1%). Adding controls for a wide range of personal and work characteristics decreased the estimated gap only slightly to 11.2% (95% CI 8.6% to 13.8%). At most, 4.5 percentage points can be explained by gender differences in experience at the same age.ConclusionsMale specialists earn a large and statistically significant premium over their female colleagues. Age, specialty and hours of work do not appear to drive these wage gaps. These findings suggest that employment agreements that specify minimum wages for each level of experience, and progression through these levels, are insufficient to eliminate gender wage gaps between similar men and women with the same experience.

We use individual-level data from the 2013 New Zealand Census combined with administrative income data from the tax system to estimate the gender gap in hourly pay for the population of medical specialists employed in the New Zealand public health system. Unionisation of these doctors is 90 percent, and their union’s MECA specifies their pay rates, which should limit the opportunities for a gender pay gap to arise. Nevertheless, we find that in their public health system employment female specialists earn an average of 12.5 percent less than their male counterparts of the same age, with the same specialty, and who work the same number of hours each week. This wage gap is larger for older ages, among those who work fewer hours each week, and for parents. Controlling for gender differences in experience at the same age decreases the estimated gender wage gap by no more than 20 percent. Our findings are consistent with male medical specialists being placed on higher salary steps than equally experienced female specialists, or males disproportionately receiving additional payments beyond the MECA minimum.

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