In a prestigious field, such as medicine, the doctors and surgeons that help us to stay healthy have one of the highest compensated jobs in America. But in most fields of work, males are more highly compensated for their work than females. Is this the same for doctors as well? The answer, sadly, is yes. According to research done by Alicia Caramenico, journalist for fiercehealthcare.com, male doctors receive an average of $17,000 more a year than female doctors.
Women have the same medical training and are providing the same care for their patients, so why are they being discriminated against in the form of unequal pay? While the explanation of women earning less than men used to be that women generally went into fields of medicine that pays less such as family practice and pediatrics, ” the percentage of women entering those fields dropped from about 50 percent in 1999 to just over 30 percent in 2008, roughly on par with male doctors” (Reuters).
To me, this gap in pay is horrifying, and the fact that it is increasing is even worse. In 1999, the average pay difference was less than $4,000 (Caramenico). With so many advances in the medical field today, it would be nice to see some advancement in the form of equal pay and gender equality.
*Sources:
Caramenico, Alicia. “Female Doctors Earn Much Less Than Male Doctors.” fiercehealthcare.com 3 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 April 2012
“Pay Gap Between Male And Female Doctors Gets Wider And Wider”. Huffington Post. Thomas Reuters. 3 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 April 2012
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