Salary Disparities Research Articles

Gender Differences in Salary of Internal Medicine Residency Directors: A National Survey

ObjectivesWhether salary disparities exist between men and women in medical education leadership roles is not known. The study objective was to determine whether salary disparities exist between male and female Internal Medicine residency program directors, and if so, to identify factors associated with the disparities and explore historical trends. MethodsThe annual Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) survey in August 2012 included items to assess the salary and demographic characteristics of program directors, which were merged with publically available program data. To assess historical trends, we used similarly obtained survey data from 2008 to 2011. The study included program directors of 370 APDIM member programs, representing 95.6% of the 387 accredited Internal Medicine training programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Of the 370 APDIM member programs, 241 (65.1%) completed the survey, of whom 169 (70.1%) were men and 72 (29.9%) were women. Program directors' total annual salary, measured in $25,000 increments, ranged from $75,000 or less to more than $400,000. Historical trends of mode salary by gender from 2008 to 2012 were assessed. ResultsThe mode salary was $200,000 to 225,000 for men and $175,000 to $200,000 for women (P = .0005). After controlling for academic rank, career in general internal medicine, and program director age, the distribution of salary remained different by gender (P = .004). Historical trends show that the difference in mode salary has persisted since 2008. ConclusionsLeaders in academic medical centers, residency and fellowship directors, and all faculty in medical education need to be aware that salary disparities cited decades ago persist in this sample of medical educators. Closing the gender gap will require continued advocacy for measuring and reporting salary gaps, and changing the culture of academic medical centers.

The Earnings and Consulting Income of US Health Economists: Results from the 2012 Survey of the American Society of Health Economists

This paper presents data from the first-ever survey of members of the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon) that was conducted in 2012. We present summary statistics of health economist earnings by rank and type of employer, and estimate log earnings models as a function of education, experience, type of employer, and research productivity. The results indicate that (1) academic salaries for health economists have risen in real terms since the previous survey in 2005; (2) we find no statistically significant evidence of disparities in academic salaries between men and women, or between whites and nonwhites; (3) there is a salary premium associated with earning a PhD at one of the top economics departments; and (4) we cannot reject the null hypothesis of no difference in salary by type of employer. We also report on the extent of consulting activities, and provide the first published data on the hourly consulting rates charged by health economists.

Creating and Implementing a Faculty Interest Group for Historically Underrepresented Faculty

This article describes the creation and implementation of a faculty interest group for historically underrepresented faculty at a large, urban community college in the Northeast. Faculty interest groups provide opportunities for faculty across disciplines to meet to explore common interests and share concerns and best practices. The faculty interest group described in this article was designed to explore and address the challenges faced by historically underrepresented faculty and facilitate the process of attaining reappointment, promotion, and tenure. Nationwide, nearly half of community college students come from populations that are also historically underrepresented, and community colleges are challenged to recruit and retain faculty that mirror the student body. Research demonstrates that historically underrepresented faculty members enrich the overall education of all students, and yet a significant number of those faculty members describe their college campuses as unwelcoming. Factors that make campuses unwelcoming for these faculty include, but are not limited to, the following: isolation and marginalization; salary disparities; microaggressions based on race, gender, and sexual identity; heightened visibility; and additional role demands. Community college administrators ought to be concerned with historically underrepresented faculty members’ satisfaction and persistence on campus because these faculty members are vital members of the academy. Faculty interest groups for historically underrepresented faculty may provide the support and professional development opportunities that will ensure their retention and success in academia.

The Status of Women in US Academic Pharmacy

To describe the status of women in pharmacy education with particular focus on a 10-year update of a previous study. Information was obtained from national databases, published reports, scholarly articles, and association websites. Comparisons were made between men and women regarding degree completion, rank, tenure status, leadership positions, research awards, salaries, and career advancement. There have been modest gains in the number of women serving as department chairs and deans. Salary disparities were found between men and women at several ranks within pharmacy practice. Men were more apt to be tenured or in tenure-track positions and received 89.4% of the national achievement awards tracked since 1981. The problem cannot be simply attributed to the pipeline of those entering academia. Barriers to advancement differ between men and women. We recommend that individuals, institutions, and associations implement strategies to decrease barriers and reduce bias against women.

Gender Bias in Academic Medicine

ABSTRACT While more women graduate from medical school, there is still unequal representation of women in academic medicine, especially in the senior levels of academia. Gender bias is a strong reason women leave academic medicine. Disparities in salary and promotion, conscious and unconscious bias and institutional policies create a culture that does not favor their recruitment and retention. This article reviews literature that describes the problem and potential solutions to individuals, departments and institutions. How to cite this article Horn KV. Gender Bias in Academic Medicine. Donald School J Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2014; 8(1):97-99.

Sex-Based Salary Disparity and the Uses of Multiple Regression for Definition and Remediation

Although sex differences in salaries are widely condemned, some organizations tolerate these disparities. When organizations are found to discriminate against women in salaries for the same jobs as men, a number of remedies can be pursued. This study illustrates how a state university responded to demonstrated sex-based salary disparities identified in a class-action lawsuit. In particular, a regression analysis was conducted for male and female faculty members that also included seven other predictors. Statistical differences between male and female faculty members were found. As part of the remediation, the salaries of 39 women faculty members were increased. Subsequent regression analysis indicated that the effect for faculty member sex no longer reached traditional levels of statistical significance. The court-order remediation was deemed to have removed the sex-based salary disparity. Yet, it is not clear that the post-remediation salaries of the women faculty were perceived as fair. This case demonstrates how concepts from regression can be (mis)used in legal cases of salary fairness and disparity.

The Hesitant Hai Gui: Return-Migration Preferences of U.S.-Educated Chinese Scientists and Engineers

Managers, research administrators, and policy makers need a greater understanding of the factors that drive employment preferences of foreign science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) doctoral graduates of U.S. universities. To address this need, the authors report the results of a large multischool conjoint survey of return-migration preferences among U.S. STEM doctoral students from China. The survey presents the respondents with potential job offers and yields individual-level estimates of each respondent's indirect utility of a job as a function of location, job status, and salary. The authors use a delayed follow-up choice task to demonstrate stability of the preference estimates both over time and across response modalities. The estimated preferences imply that Chinese doctoral graduates tend to remain in the United States because of a large salary disparity between the two countries rather than because of an inherent preference for locating in the United States. Given these estimated preferences, the authors conduct several policy-relevant, counterfactual simulations of return-migration choice and outline effective targeting and positioning strategy for attracting Chinese STEM talent.

Migratory motivations of American professional basketball players in Japan, Spain and Australia

This study focuses on the overseas migratory motivation of American players in the world of professional basketball. Qualitative interviews were used to understand the experiences of eight American basketball players and the study adopts neo-classical economics as its theoretical framework. A total of six players attached importance to getting a good contract as professional players. One player emphasized the desire to experience a different culture. Another player had emigrated to continue playing basketball at a high-level and enjoy a comfortable life style. By demonstrating that many American players migrate to overseas countries because of disparities in salary between professional basketball leagues, the study provides evidence of the relevance of neo-classical economics to the motivations of professional basketball players in the international market.

Vertical funding, non-governmental organizations, and health system strengthening: perspectives of public sector health workers in Mozambique

BackgroundIn the rapid scale-up of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) treatment, many donors have chosen to channel their funds to non-governmental organizations and other private partners rather than public sector systems. This approach has reinforced a private sector, vertical approach to addressing the HIV epidemic. As progress on stemming the epidemic has stalled in some areas, there is a growing recognition that overall health system strengthening, including health workforce development, will be essential to meet AIDS treatment goals. Mozambique has experienced an especially dramatic increase in disease-specific support over the last eight years. We explored the perspectives and experiences of key Mozambican public sector health managers who coordinate, implement, and manage the myriad donor-driven projects and agencies.MethodsOver a four-month period, we conducted 41 individual qualitative interviews with key Ministry workers at three levels in the Mozambique national health system, using open-ended semi-structured interview guides. We also reviewed planning documents.ResultsAll respondents emphasized the value and importance of international aid and vertical funding to the health sector and each highlighted program successes that were made possible by recent increased aid flows. However, three serious concerns emerged: 1) difficulties coordinating external resources and challenges to local control over the use of resources channeled to international private organizations; 2) inequalities created within the health system produced by vertical funds channeled to specific services while other sectors remain under-resourced; and 3) the exodus of health workers from the public sector health system provoked by large disparities in salaries and work.ConclusionsThe Ministry of Health attempted to coordinate aid by implementing a “sector-wide approach” to bring the partners together in setting priorities, harmonizing planning, and coordinating support. Only 14% of overall health sector funding was channeled through this coordinating process by 2008, however. The vertical approach starved the Ministry of support for its administrative functions. The exodus of health workers from the public sector to international and private organizations emerged as the issue of greatest concern to the managers and health workers interviewed. Few studies have addressed the growing phenomenon of “internal brain drain” in Africa which proved to be of greater concern to Mozambique’s health managers.

Inequalities in the distribution of pharmacists' wage-and-salary earnings: Indicators and their development

Disparities in wages and salaries can be viewed as the dispersion of a statistical distribution that responds to observed and unobserved characteristics, and reflects socioeconomic phenomena such as the interplay of supply and demand, availability of information, and efficiency of markets in their search for equilibrium. The aim of this study was to explore the nature of inequality in the distribution of pharmacists' wage-and-salary earnings and establish the extent to which inequality primarily occurred because of variation between/among groups or within groups of pharmacists in several classifications of human-capital and job-related preference variables. Data were collected through the use of a survey questionnaire mailed to registered pharmacists in South Florida, USA. Five indicators of inequality (the log earnings variance, the coefficient of variation, the lower median share, the 90-10 decile ratio, and the Gini coefficient) were estimated for eight human-capital classifications and eight job-related classifications. A one-way ANOVA model was applied to the groups in each classification to compare variation between/among versus within pharmacy groups. Pharmacists' wage-and-salary earnings were more evenly distributed than most income distributions discussed in the literature. They were more equitably distributed for full-time pharmacists than for all pharmacists in the data set. All five-inequality indicators behaved similarly. Notable differences were observed between/among groups within the gender, age group, marital status, number of children, academic degree, and type of primary pharmacy activity classifications. Inequalities in wages and salaries have been identified both between/among and within pharmacist groups in several classifications using five commonly accepted indicators.

Characteristics of nurse leaders in hospitals in the USA from 1992 to 2008

Aim Describe the nurse leader workforce in hospitals in the USA over time by exploring three research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of the nurse leader workforce in US hospitals? (2) How does the nurse leader workforce change over time? (3) How do nurses in executive positions (administrators) differ from nurses in first-line supervisory positions (supervisors)? Background Effective nurse leaders use management skills to ensure safe patient care in hospitals in the USA. Changes in the nurse leader workforce have an impact on patient care. Method A non-experimental design was used to explore the characteristics of 10 150 nurse leaders using the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 National Sample Surveys of Registered Nurses. Results Number of masters and doctorally prepared nurse leaders increased from 14.5% to 23.2% along with an increase in mean age. A 30% decrease in the number of nurses in leadership positions was found. Male nurses reported significantly higher salaries P < 0.000. Conclusions Nurse leaders are older and have achieved higher educational degrees. Salary disparities based on gender still prevail. Implications for nursing management Identifying and developing future leaders with necessary skills and competencies is critical for organizational success.

Mexicos Resilient Cast System: Managerial Implications For Foreign Firms

Ethnically, three groups form Mexican society: Indians, Mestizos and Creoles. The Mestizos have European and Indian ancestors, while the Creoles have an ancestry that is exclusively European. Until the advent of NAFTA, the managerial profession functioned as an aristocracy, excluded the Indians and was dominated by the Creoles. NAFTA and accompanying free market policies are, however, transforming the managerial profession into a meritocracy, thus bringing Mestizos and Indians into this profession. For foreign firms this transformation causes managerial problems such as the reluctant acceptance of executives of Indian appearance and ethnically based disparities in executives salaries.

The Hesitant Hai Gui: Return-Migration Preferences of U.S. - Educated Chinese Scientists and Engineers

Managers, administrators of research institutions, and policy makers need a greater understanding of the factors that drive return migration decisions of foreign STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) doctoral graduates of U.S. universities. To address this need, we conducted a large-scale multi-school revealed-preference survey of job preferences among U.S. STEM PhD students and postdocs from China - the source country of the most foreign doctoral students. The survey presents the respondents with choices of potential job offers, and yields individual-level estimates of each respondent’s indirect utility of a job as a function of location, job status, public versus private nature of the employer, and salary. The estimated preferences imply that Chinese doctoral graduates currently tend to remain in the United States because of a large salary disparity between the two countries rather than because of an inherent preference for locating in the United States. The return rate is quite elastic in the salary gap, and many more graduates will return to China if the gap continues to narrow. We provide return-probability estimates for all possible counterfactual levels of the gap. For example, we find that if the gap narrowed to half of today’s level, the return migration would increase threefold to about 27% of graduates. To counteract this potential reverse brain drain, the U.S. managers and policy makers can provide relatively modest monetary incentives and exploit the heterogeneity in job preferences across different student demographics. We also estimate the additional returns due to potential reduced job availability in desirable U.S. coastal cities and due to greater availability of managerial positions in China, and we find that neither change would increase return migration more than a few percentage points.

Career Influences of Agricultural Extension Agents

This qualitative study sought to explore the influences that shaped Florida agricultural agents’ employment decisions at different career stages. A purposive sample was used to select 12 agents who were classified into one of the three stages of the career stages model (Kutilek, Gunderson, &amp; Conklin, 2002). In–depth interviews were utilized to investigate positive and negative influences on the decision– making process regarding an Extension career. Grounded theory was the primary data analysis method (Strauss &amp; Corbin, 1998). Positive influences on entry level agents’ career decisions were personal traits, motivators, and support systems. Negative influences were lack of direction, personal work management issues, job pressures, and mandated work requirements. Positive influences on colleague level agents’ career decisions were motivators, career growth opportunities, career management strategies, and collaboration with key people. Negative influences were job performance measures, salary disparity, and personal work management issues. Positive influences on counselor/advisor level agents’ career decisions were motivators, career growth opportunities, and career management strategies. Negative influences were career overload and job dissatisfiers. A grounded theory was developed to explain the most significant factors and influences. Findings should be addressed by the organization to improve the overall career satisfaction of agents and maintain its high–quality employees.

The impact of salary dispersion and performance bonuses in NFL organizations

PurposeThis paper aims to evaluate the effects of both salary dispersion and incentive pay on team performance using data complied from the National Football League over the years 2000‐2007.Design/methodology/approachThe authors consider the effect of pay structure on both in terms of on‐field and financial performance. Salary disparity and its subsequent consequences has been a topic of economic research on corporate pay structure and also professional team sport organizations. Analysis of pay structures incorporating the effects of incentive pay on performance is also recurrent in the literature. The paper uses regression analysis and incorporates both fixed and random effects models.FindingsA relationship between improved on‐field performance and increased payroll, lower levels of salary dispersion, and increased incentive payments is found. However, when employing team revenue production as the measure of performance, a positive relationship with salary dispersion is found.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are of particular interest because a conflict of objectives is seen. When financial incentives are primary, hierarchical pay structure is optimal. It is shown that more compressed pay structures improve on‐field performance.Practical implicationsThis study is unique in addressing how salary dispersion in combination with incentive pay correlates to team success as measured by both winning and revenue production. While the authors used the NFL as the organization of interest, this type of analysis could be applied to other professional sport leagues incorporating some type of salary cap. In addition, future research could also involve a mixed methods approach to help gain an additional understanding of the decision making of those in managerial positions of influence within sport and non‐sport organizations.Originality/valueThe study is unique in that most previous empirical work analyzing payroll structure in sport organizations does not consider disparity in conjunction alternative methods of improving performance through structure of compensation.

Disparities in Salaries: Metropolitan versus Nonmetropolitan Community College Faculty

This article explores disparities in faculty salaries between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan Texas community colleges. The analysis reveals a significant difference in faculty salaries for the 2000 and 2005 academic years respectively. The study found no significant difference in the rate of change in faculty salaries from 2000 to 2005. Implications for policy and practice are identified.

Gender and Leadership in Healthcare Administration: 21st Century Progress and Challenges

The need for strong leadership and increased diversity is a prominent issue in today's health services workforce. This article reviews the latest literature, including research and proposed agendas, regarding women in executive healthcare leadership. Data suggest that the number of women in leadership roles is increasing, but women remain underrepresented in the top echelons of healthcare leadership, and gender differences exist in the types of leadership roles women do attain. Salary disparity prevails, even when controlling for gender differences in educational attainment, age, and experience. Despite widespread awareness of these problems in the field, current action and policy recommendations are severely lacking. Along with the challenges of cost, quality, and an aging population, the time has come for a more thoughtful, policy-focused approach to amend the discrepancy between gender and leadership in healthcare administration.

Compensation in Academic Medicine: Progress Toward Gender Equity

Studies have documented substantial salary disparities between women and men in academic medicine. While various strategies have been proposed to increase equity, to our knowledge, no interventions have been evaluated. This paper aims to assess the effect of an identity-conscious intervention on salary equity. This study shows comparison of adjusted annual salaries for women and men before and after an intervention. We studied full time faculty employed in FY00 (n = 393) and FY04 (n = 462) in one College of Medicine. Compensation data were obtained from personnel databases for women and men, and adjusted for predictors. After verification of data accuracy by departments, comparable individuals within the same department who had different salaries were identified. The Dean discussed apparent disparities with department heads, and salaries were adjusted. Total adjusted annualized salaries were compared for men and women for the year the project began and the year after the intervention using multivariate models. Female faculty members' salaries were also considered as a percent of male faculty members' salaries. Twenty-one potential salary disparities were identified. Eight women received equity adjustments to their salaries, with the average increase being $17,323. Adjusted salaries for women as a percent of salary for men increased from 89.4% before the intervention to 93.5% after the intervention. Disparities in compensation were no longer significant in FY2004 in basic science departments, where women were paid 97.6% of what men were paid. This study shows that gender disparities in compensation can be reduced through careful documentation, identification of comparable individuals paid different salaries, and commitment from leadership to hold the appropriate person accountable.

Examining gender salary disparities: an analysis of the 2003 multistate salary survey

Background Pharmacist salary and wage surveys have been conducted at the state and national level for more than 20 years; however, it is not known to what extent, if any, wage disparities due to gender still exist. Objectives The overall objective of this study was to determine if wage disparities exist among male and female pharmacists at the multistate and individual state level for each of 6 states studied. A secondary objective was to explore the effect of various demographic variables on the hourly wages of pharmacists. Methods Data were collected from 1,688 pharmacists in 6 states during 2003 using a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. A multiple regression analysis on hourly wage testing the effects of state of practice, practice setting, position, terminal degree, and years in practice was conducted. Subsequent multiple regression analyses were conducted individually for each of the 6 states to test the effects of the above variables on hourly wage for both male and female pharmacists, followed by state-level analyses for male and female pharmacists, respectively. Results For the pooled data, all variables were found to be significant predictors of hourly wage, except for earning a PharmD degree without a residency or graduate degree. Gender was not a significant predictor of wage disparities in the state-level analyses. Position was the only significant predictor of wage disparities in all states (except Tennessee) such that pharmacists in management positions make significantly higher salaries than those in staff positions. Conclusions The results of these analyses suggest that wage disparities due to gender do not exist at the state level for the 6 states surveyed, when controlling for practice setting, position, terminal degree, and years in practice. The larger number of men in management positions may explain lower wages for female pharmacists.

Gender-Based Wage Differences: The Effects of Occupation and Job Segregation in Israel

This article reports on an analysis of gender differences in the process governing salary disparity between typically female occupations and typically male occupations. The research surveyed 771 white collar employees. The findings indicate that choice of occupation does affect income disparity. This study provides evidence of pay discrimination against men in predominantly female occupations and against women in female- and male-dominated positions. In contrast to North American studies, women did not experience a positive effect by being employed in the public sector, nor did either of the genders working in larger organizations. The implications of the findings for the generalizability of human capital, structural and institutional theories explaining wage disparity in a cross-national context are discussed.