Gender gaps in income and productivity of obstetricians and gynecologists.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in income, productivity, and practice style between male and female obstetrician-gynecologists between 1990 and 2002.

METHODS: The primary data were the Socioeconomic Surveys of Fellows conducted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The surveys contained complete responses from 3,698 obstetrician-gynecologists. Linear regression analysis was used to investigate gender differences in income, productivity, and practice style.

RESULTS: Female obstetrician-gynecologists were younger, had been in medical practice fewer years, earned lower annual incomes ($196,000 versus $257,000), and exhibited lower productivity. Even when considering only young obstetrician-gynecologists (40 years old or younger), women earned annual incomes that were 23% lower, worked 10% fewer hours, saw 9% fewer patients, and performed 21% fewer procedures. The raw income gap between male and female obstetrician-gynecologists of all ages fell from 31% in 1990 to 19% in 2002, whereas for young obstetrician-gynecologists it remained stable at approximately 19%. However, despite this apparent stability, the nature of the income gap changed: whereas differences in productivity and practice style explained only half of the income gap in the 1990s, by 2002 these factors explained nearly all of the income gap.

CONCLUSION: Between 1990 and 2002, female obstetrician-gynecologists earned lower annual incomes than male obstetrician-gynecologists, even when matched on age. However, by 2002 this income gap was almost entirely explained by gender differences in productivity and practice patterns.