Achieving Gender Equity in Physician Compensation and Career Advancement: A Position Paper of the American College of Physicians

Abstract

Women comprise more than one third of the active physician workforce, an estimated 46% of all physicians-in-training, and more than half of all medical students in the United States. Although progress has been made toward gender diversity in the physician workforce, disparities in compensation exist and inequities have contributed to a disproportionately low number of female physicians achieving academic advancement and serving in leadership positions. Women in medicine face other challenges, including a lack of mentors, discrimination, gender bias, cultural environment of the workplace, imposter syndrome, and the need for better work-life integration. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians summarizes the unique challenges female physicians face over the course of their careers and provides recommendations to improve gender equity and ensure that the full potential of female physicians is realized.

Gender Disparities in Academic Emergency Medicine: Strategies for the Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion of Women

“…A growing body of evidence has revealed substantial gender disparities that may contribute to this lack of retention, including gender gaps in academic rank, leadership positions, and salary . An additional theory is that women are more likely to face career stagnation manifested by promotion disparities.…”

Gender Pay Gaps in Medicine: Moving from Explanations to Action

“…Yet gender inequities in physician compensation persist, with reported gender-based pay gaps of 16 to 37%. 1 Many potential explanations for this pay gap have been suggested, including prioritization of work-life balance, rates of working part-time, specialty choice, years of experience, fewer women in leadership roles and in senior positions, and lack of mentorship and sponsorship for women to promote career advancement. Prior studies have sought to control for many of these and found persistent gender disparities, but have thus far failed to account for the exact quantity and composition of hours worked (e.g., performing procedures versus teaching).…”

“…8 Along these lines, working part-time should not be penalized. 1 Compensation may be proportionally reduced, but evaluation of productivity and achievement should also be proportionally assessed. Using this approach, if a physician works part-time for a period of time, if s/he returns to full-time work, his or her compensation should equal that of a peer that worked full-time throughout.…”

When Women Rise, We All Rise: American Geriatrics Society Position Statement on Achieving Gender Equity in Geriatrics

“…We recognize that this work does not specifically address the gender wage gap in geriatric medicine, which is 15% according to a recent Doximity survey . In a 2018 position statement, the American College of Physicians exposed the pay inequity that exists for women physicians, including those in academic medicine, and identified additional barriers to their ability to advance in their careers . On May 12, 2019, the editors of JAMA highlighted recent research and opinions published in JAMA , JAMA Internal Medicine , and JAMA Surgery related to gender inequities in medicine .…”

“…5 In a 2018 position statement, the American College of Physicians exposed the pay inequity that exists for women physicians, including those in academic medicine, and identified additional barriers to their ability to advance in their careers. 6 On May 12, 2019, the editors of JAMA highlighted recent research and opinions published in JAMA, JAMA Internal Medicine, and JAMA Surgery related to gender inequities in medicine. 7 In addition, there is extensive research funded by the National Institutes of Health, which documents persistent gender inequity for faculty in the biomedical sciences.…”