This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Background and Objectives Previous studies have shown gender disparities in physician pay in various specialties. This retrospective, cross-sectional study evaluated data from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Compensation and Productivity Survey for differences in neurologist compensation by gender.
Methods Of the 3,268 completed surveys submitted, 2,719 were from neurologists and 1,466 had sufficient data for analysis (551 women, 951 men respondents). We calculated an hourly wage from full-time equivalent (FTE) status and weeks worked per year. We evaluated differences in men and women neurologist compensation with multivariable generalized linear models adjusting for race, ethnicity, geographic region, practice setting, years in practice, call status, leadership role, straight salary, and subspecialty.
Results Baseline characteristics for men and women neurologists were similar with the exception of subspecialty distribution. More men were practicing in higher-wage subspecialties compared to women (p < 0.05). Mean FTE annual salary for all neurologists was $280,315, and mean standardized hourly compensation was $131. Estimated annual salary for women was 10.7% less (p ≤ 0.001, 95% confidence interval −4% to −16%) after controlling for race, region, years of practice, practice setting, call status, leadership role, and subspecialty-wage category. FTE annual salary for women neurologists in high-compensation specialties ($281,838) was lower than the mean annual salary for men neurologists in both high-compensation ($365,751) and low-compensation subspecialties ($282,813). When broken down by years of practice, the highest earning women neurologists' mean hourly wage (11–20 years of practice, $128/h) was less than that of all men neurologists except those with 0 to 5 years of practice ($125/h).
Discussion This study, using convenience sample data, adds to the existing body of evidence demonstrating that, despite adjustment for multiple confounding variables, ongoing disparities exist in physician compensation. Despite efforts by professional societies such as the AAN, ongoing systemic issues and barriers exist. Further research into underlying causes and mitigation strategies is recommended; use of probability sampling methods in future research will be important to decrease potential bias and to increase generalizability.
Glossary
- AAN=
- American Academy of Neurology;
- APP=
- advanced practice provider;
- FTE=
- full-time equivalent
Footnotes
This manuscript was approved by the AAN’s Medical Economics and Practice Committee on July 12, 2021, and by the AAN and AAN Institute Boards of Directors on August 19, 2021.
Go to Neurology.org/N for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
Editorial, page 347
CME Course: NPub.org/cmelist
- Received August 23, 2021.
- Accepted in final form December 17, 2021.
- © 2022 American Academy of Neurology
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
