Houston's Female Doctors Are Grossly Underpaid Compared To Male Counterparts

It's common knowledge that a woman in the United States likely earns less for her labor than a man doing the same task, from factory workers to physicians. But $106,000 less? That amount is sure to shock most people, but it's what female doctors in Houston are dealing with.

According to a study released on Wednesday, female physicians in Houston earn on average $106,000 less annually than their male counterparts. Nationally, the disparity averages $91,284. Put in percentages, female doctors in the Bayou City earn 29 percent less than male doctors in the city.

Doximity, a social media network for medical professionals, looked at 36,000 physician salaries in 50 major metropolitan regions and came up with the figures, which were compiled from full-time salaries only.

(Want to get daily updates about all the news going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

"The things that surprised us were two things: First, the sheer magnitude of the gender gap. And second, that we weren't able to find a single metro area or specialty where women made more than men," the study's lead author, Chris Whaley, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of California-Berkeley School of Public Health, wrote.

Physicians in Houston earn an average salary of $345,079 per year, the fifth-highest average pay in the nation; Charlotte, N.C. doctors earned on average the top salary in the nation, $359,455, and also had the largest gender pay disparity, $125,000. Broken down by gender, the average pay for a male physician in Houston is $373,000 per year, while a female doctor earns $267,000 per year on average.

"The tables they have are just shocking," Dr. Barbara Stoll, the first woman dean at the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston, told the Houston Chronicle in response to the Doximity study. "When you march down every subspecialty and there is a gap, we have a problem."

What does a young Houston doctor think about the numbers?

"Here we are in 2017 in a profession where we are getting the same training, the same education. It's just so disappointing," Caroline Hussey told the Chronicle. Hussey, a 30-year-old med student in her second year at UTHealth, wants to specialize in oncology.

"I feel like this is something I should've been aware of," she said. "No one ever talks about this in medical school. We need to be talking about it, and not just women. Men need to be aware of this, too."

While it is common knowledge that men dominate higher paying subspecialties such as oncology or brain surgery, the Doximity study found a large gender pay gap even in pediatric emergency surgery — women tend to gravitate toward pediatrics — $264,000 to $215,000.

"It is exactly the same job whether you are a man or a woman. Why is there a $50,000 difference?" Stoll said.

You can read more about the Doximity study here.

— Image: Shutterstock