South Jersey Employment Lawyers Discuss the Gender Wage Disparity in Healthcare

Recent studies on wages in the healthcare industry reveal startling pay disparities between male and female doctors. Doximity, a social networking site for healthcare professionals, surveyed physicians from its 600,000-member community for its first annual physicians’ compensation report. The study proved that the wage gap is real and change is needed.

The South Jersey employment lawyers at Sidney L. Gold & Associates P.C. are well-versed in wage discrimination cases. New Jersey was named one of the states with a large gender wage gap among physicians. Rutgers University employment law professor Stacy Hawkins believes that wage disparities are the result of ineffective employment structures and policies.

Highlights from the Report

Doximity staff surveyed both male and female physicians working in urban, rural, and suburban communities. After analyzing the results, they found that the national gender wage gap for physicians is 26.5 percent, meaning female physicians take home an average of $91,284 less each year than their male counterparts.

Surprisingly, the gender gap is felt across the board as women physicians earn less than men in every healthcare specialty. Female physicians earn approximately 74 cents for every dollar that male physicians earn. The report further broke down the results by specialty, finding the area of pediatric rheumatology with the highest gender wage gap. In that field, female physicians earn 21 percent, or $45,412 less than their male counterparts.

Gastroenterology specialists also see a wage gap of 21 percent, or $78,490 annual salary. Ranked third, female physicians in pediatric endocrinology take in $41,467, or 20 percent less than men. Female physicians in occupational medicine experience a 20 percent pay disparity, which equates to $53,921. Rounding out the top five is vascular surgery with a wage gap of $88,800, also 20 percent.

The study also found that no community in the United States exists where female physicians out-earn their male counterparts. Information for the report was gathered from 36,000 full-time physicians working across the United States.

Major Metropolitan-Area Wage Disparity

Philadelphia, one of the busiest areas in the country and a neighbor to South Jersey, had one of the lowest annual salaries for female physicians.

Experts agree that gender wage disparity is a major issue that needs to be addressed. In fact, many experts believe the lack of transparency during the salary negotiation process as well as differences between specialties affect payrate. However, this is no excuse for the gender wage gap which is a prime example of gender discrimination. Discrimination in any form is illegal and physicians who believe they have been discriminated against have the right to take legal action.

South Jersey Employment Lawyers at Sidney L. Gold & Associates P.C. Fight Against Gender Wage Disparity

If you are a physician in the Southern New Jersey area and are concerned about discrimination in your workplace, contact the highly skilled employment lawyers at Sidney L. Gold & Associates P.C. For over 30 years, we have worked diligently to fight workplace discrimination in all forms for a vast number of employees. Contact us online or call 215-569-1999 to schedule a free consultation with one of our trusted associates.