Female representation improves in high-paying medical specialties, finds study

Medical Xpress September 30, 2024
University of Michigan

Despite continuing overall inequities, the number of female residents matriculating to high-paying medical specialties has increased, with a notable rise in women entering high compensation surgical fields.

University of Michigan researchers have reported these findings in “Trends in female physicians entering high-compensation specialties, 2008 to 2022,” published in JAMA.

While women constituted 55% of incoming United States medical students, there exists a significant pay gap between male and female doctors, driven in part by overrepresentation of men in high-paying specialties.

Lately, however, the proportion of female matriculants to high compensation residency specialties has increased, from 32.7% in 2008 to 40.8% in 2022.

Matriculation to high-compensation surgical specialties drove that increase, with women representing 28.8% of applicants in 2008 and 40.8%...