In anesthesiology, it pays 鈥� literally 鈥� to be a man.
At least, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 suggested by examining this specialty鈥檚 demographics and salaries in 2007 and again in 2013. The study, by the RAND Corp., a nonpartisan research institute, was published Thursday in the journal Anesthesiology.
Despite those gains, women in 2012 earned about $313,000 on average, while men earned about $404,000 鈥� a difference of close to 30 percent. That broke down to $151 per hour for male anesthesiologists, compared with $131 for females. Part of the difference could stem from the fact that older, more experienced doctors often are male.
A detailed analysis of anesthesiologists younger than 36 who worked in group practices found wage disparities existed in 2012, even when taking into account age, experience, hours worked and type of employer. Controlling for those, women earned 7 percent less than did their male counterparts 鈥� $114 per hour worked, compared with $122.
鈥淕ender gaps remain even when we controlled for a large number of demographic and employment characteristics,鈥� the researchers wrote. 鈥淭herefore, accounting for these differences cannot fully explain gender differences in earnings.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing over time is a narrowing and closing of that gap, and it鈥檚 certainly a good thing. But I think what this study does for all of us is it tells us we鈥檙e not there yet,鈥� said Jane Fitch, immediate past president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
It鈥檚 possible that the remaining gap comes from factors the researchers didn鈥檛 examine: qualitative type of experience, where a doctor went to medical school or details about a hospital, said co-author Lindsay Daugherty, a policy researcher at RAND. Discrimination is another possibility, she said, but noted that women make less than men do in 鈥� not just anesthesiology.
鈥淭here can be many different reasons for the gender gap that really need to be explored,鈥� she said.
Female anesthesiologists are significantly more likely to work for an individual hospital and to be paid a flat salary rather than for each service performed, differences that account for much of the earnings gap between men and women.
But what鈥檚 unclear, Daugherty said, is whether that difference is because of institutional bias 鈥� larger forces funneling women into lower paying positions 鈥� or because women simply prefer working under those conditions. Although working for a hospital at a fixed salary often means getting paid less, it allows for a more flexible lifestyle and better working hours, she said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any evidence to suggest these are discrimination,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 important to document that these differences exist and then dig deeper to figure out what the reasons are.鈥�
Women are three times as likely to work part-time, compared with men, and work on average six fewer hours per week, the researchers found. Marital status seemed to play a role: Married female anesthesiologists worked less, on average, than did married men. But having children 鈥� something often cited in explaining differences in hours worked across genders 鈥� didn鈥檛 seem to influence how much women worked.
鈥淢y hypothesis is these women who are married have another income in the household.听 They don鈥檛 have to be working crazy hours and will take a position where they can have some quality of life,鈥� Daugherty said.
Figuring out what鈥檚 behind these differences 鈥� personal preferences, institutional bias or something else 鈥� will matter in understanding how hospitals should respond to the findings. If for instance, women are choosing lower-paying tracks because of personal preference, hospitals need to figure out ways to better accommodate those women, Daugherty said.
鈥淓veryone brings to the table different things at different points in their career, and they likely make different choices at different points in their career,鈥� Fitch said. 鈥淪o hopefully employers will be sensitive to those facts.鈥�
If the differences are thanks to bias, implicit or otherwise, employers need to carefully consider how and why it鈥檚 arisen, Daugherty said, and 鈥渉ow they鈥檙e going to overcome these disparities.鈥�
鈥淲e all will strive for the day where [the gender gap is] a nonissue 鈥搘here it doesn鈥檛 exist at all,鈥� Fitch said. 鈥淗istorically, looking at the numbers we are closing the gap.鈥�