Study Finds a Gender Gap in Pay for a Key Position in Medical Education

A new study led by Lisa Willett a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama Birmingham finds that women who serve as directors of internal medicine residency programs, a critical leadership position in medical education, are paid less than their male counterparts.

The authors surveyed internal residency program directors at 241 institutions. Salary data were divided into $25,000 increments, and the mode, or most likely, salary was $200,000 to $225,000 for men and $175,000 to $200,000 for women. The gender disparity persisted even after controlling for academic rank, career path in general internal medicine and age.

“Despite the increased percentage of female faculty in U.S. academic medicine, disparities in achievement still exist,” Dr. Willett said. “The disparity exists regardless of region, program type, academic rank, general internal medicine specialty, age or years of experience. In addition, we found that the gap in salary has not narrowed over the past five years.”

The study, “Gender Differences in Salary of Internal Medicine Residency Directors: A National Survey,” was published on the website of the American Journal of Medicine. It may be accessed here.