Salary Gap Research Articles

Not Just Surviving, But Thriving: Overcoming Barriers to Career Advancement for Women Junior Faculty Clinician-Researchers.

Although women attend medical school and residency at similar rates to men, they experience lower levels of academic career advancement than men. To inform national gender equity efforts, the authors conducted a qualitative study to explore potential gender differences in the career experiences of junior research faculty at a premier research institution. Focus group discussions were conducted among women and men junior research faculty at the School of Medicine at an urban public research university. Participants were early mentored career development award recipients (K-awardees). Two same-gender focus groups of nine women and six men were conducted. Discussions focused on two domains: barriers to maintaining a research career and facilitators for research career development. Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti and content analysis methods. Both women and men identified a challenging funding environment, difficulty bridging the salary gap, and lack of institutional support as barriers to maintaining their research careers. Women perceived two primary barriers to their career advancement that were different from their male counterparts: They were more likely to feel undervalued at the institution and to experience significant strains related to both childbearing and childcare. Women also reported receiving inadequate mentorship, having poor negotiation skills, and experiencing a lack of negotiation opportunities. Academic research institutions should consider interventions that provide financial, emotional, and practical support to women research faculty, particularly during their childbearing and childrearing years.

What are the Factors that Drive Employees' Intention to Leave the Non-profit Sector in China?

This article uses the 2014 Chinese Non-profit Employee Survey (CNES) to empirically investigate the factors that drive employees to leave the non-profit sector. Findings have shown that salary level and mission attachment impact employees' intent to leave and that the two factors are moderated by the length of work experience. For employees with fewer than five years' work experience, mission attachment has a negative impact on the intent to switch sectors. For employees with over five years' experience, salary level is positively associated with the intention to leave. This study also identifies salary gap as a mediator to explain research findings and offers implications for the sustainable development of human resources in China's non-profit sector.

Faculty Salary Inversion, Compression, and Market Salary Gap in California State University Business Schools

Extant literature has examined salary compression and inversion in US academic institutions including arguments that compression constitutes a form of age discrimination. We assess these phenomena via estimated full rank salaries (across nine campuses in the teaching-oriented California State University (CSU) system) based on the notion that in the absence of compression and inversion, forecasted full rank salaries should be comparable across faculty ranks. Our results show that salary compression is present across all sampled Colleges of Business (COB), but not in other academic CSU colleges. In addition, the patterns of compression support the notion that salaries in CSU COBs are becoming more inverted as the gap between market and current salaries increases. Recommendations for policy and collective bargaining negotiations are also offered.

Exploratory data analysis on large data sets: The example of salary variation in Spanish Social Security Data

New challenges arise in data visualization when the research involves a sizable database. With many data points, classical scatterplots are non-informative due to the cluttering of points. On the contrary, simple plots, such as the boxplot that are of limited use in small samples, offer great potential to facilitate group comparison in the case of an extensive sample. This article presents exploratory data analysis methods useful for inspecting variation across groups in crucial variables and detecting heterogeneity. The exploratory data analysis methods (introduced by Tukey in his seminal book of 1977) encompass a set of statistical tools aimed to extract information from data using simple graphical tools. In this article, some of the exploratory data analysis methods like the boxplot and scatterplot are revisited and enhanced using modern graphical computational devices (as, for example, the heat-map) and their use illustrated with Spanish Social Security data. We explore how earnings vary across several factors like age, gender, type of occupation, and contract, and in particular, the gender gap in salaries is visualized in various dimensions relating to the type of occupation. The exploratory data analysis methods are also applied to assessing and refining competing regressions by plotting residuals-versus-fitted values. The methods discussed should be useful to researchers to assess heterogeneity in data, across-group variation, and classical diagnostic plots of residuals from alternative models fits. JEL CLASSIFICATION: C55; J01; J08; Y10; C80

Chasing the Trends: How does IT Knowledge Impact Individuals’ Career Development?

With the growing importance of information technology in the world, extensive evidence has shown the pivotal role of IT in businesses at the industry and firm level. However, little is known about the value of “personal IT knowledge acquisition” in individual career development. This paper aims to bridge this gap. Towards this end, we obtained a unique data set covering 1 million randomly selected individuals’ career records between 2000 and 2016 from a leading online employment service company in China. We identified individuals’ IT knowledge in both the generalized and specialized IT domains over time. We then employed extensive econometric analyses to identify the nuanced effects of IT knowledge acquisition on an individual’s career development. In particular, we examined the average effects, time-varying effects, and the moderating effects with three potential bias factors, including home bias, big-city bias, and gender bias indicators. Our empirical results suggest that acquiring specialized IT knowledge would increase an individual’s annual salary, on average, by 2.59%, ceteris paribus. The value of specialized IT knowledge has accelerated since 2010, with annual increases ranging from 5% to over 12%. Further, it is important to acquire the “right” knowledge at the “right” time: there is a significant time-varying effect of different types of specialized IT knowledge over time (e.g., AI and deep learning in recent years). Lastly, we observe that having specialized IT knowledge can help individuals reduce common biases (i.e., home bias, big-city bias, and gender bias) in the labor market. In particular, we observe that the acquisition of specialized IT knowledge would mitigate the salary gaps resulting from the home bias and big-city bias (by 1.11% and 5.92%, respectively). Interestingly, females benefit more from having specialized IT knowledge – it helps reduce gender biases by 12.7%. Our analyses further reveal an interesting trade-off - while having specialized IT knowledge helps workers obtain salary increases, having generalized IT knowledge helps workers extend their tenure with the firm. Our paper offers significant managerial implications for both the individual career development and the policymakers.

Women in geosciences within the Italian University system in the last 20 years

Abstract. This work aims at providing an updated scenario on the underrepresentation of women in the Italian university system in the area of geosciences in the last two decades. The retrieved official data on permanent full and associate professors in the 19-years considered highlight some positive trends: an increase in the number of female full professors from 9.0 % to 18.5 % and in female associate professors from 23.6 % to 28.9 %. However, although the number of female full professors almost doubled in this period, such increase still represents an excessively slow trend. Slightly better is the trend related to associate professors. The picture portrayed for non-permanent researchers, called RTD-b, as introduced by the Italian Law no. 240/2010 (essentially tenure-track associate professor position), instead raises strong concerns for the future seen that the female percentage is just 26 %, thus exhibiting a significant gender imbalance. This is even more significant if we consider that the student population in geosciences shows a gender imbalance of about 37 %, no gender gap at PhD level and a relatively high Glass Ceiling Index (GCI) during the career progression of women. An analysis of the geographical distribution of female researchers in geosciences has evidenced that, although the percentages of women are comparable, the GCI calculated in Southern Italy has been alarmingly high in the last 2–3 years and is divergent from the decrease observed in Northern and Central Italy. The work also analyses the gender balance over different areas of geosciences, showing that in Paleontology and Paleoecology the gap is inverted with more female than male professors, both at full and associate professor level, whereas the gap is almost closed in Mineralogy for associate professors, far though from being balanced for full professors. All remaining geological disciplines suffer a gender imbalance. Further analysis carried out in this work unveils that the number of female full professor is low (<10 %) both at national and regional level in the 2000–2009 decade, consistent with a GCI higher than 2.5–3. From 2010 to 2013, likely in response to the Italian Law no. 240 of 2010, an important progressive increase, associated with a decrease of GCI, is visible. However, from 2014 to 2019 the percentage remains constant (∼20 %) with the exception of Southern Italy, which displays a return to lower values (<15 %). Finally, an international comparison with countries like Germany and the USA definitively indicates that the Italian university system is more equal in terms of gender balance. Even if some significant and positive steps have been carried out in the Italian university system, still much effort is required to fight a general and crucial problem which is the gender balance issue. Results could be achieved promoting work-life balance policies that better reconcile family and work, stimulating a reorganization of the work system still currently set on the male model but, and more importantly, changing the prevailing patriarchal mentality. The Italian university system has already a great example to follow: the zero-pay gap. This is possibly the only system worldwide where male and female professors earn the same identical salary, compared to the salary gap of between 15 % and 30 % of countries richer than Italy, and must be the target to reach, in the near future, for gender balance.

The Correlation Analysis Between Salary Gap and Enterprise Innovation Efficiency Based on the Entrepreneur Psychology.

Under the analysis of the psychological level of entrepreneurs, the study focuses on discussing the relationship between the salary gap and enterprise innovation efficiency. It provides a reference basis for promoting employee innovation activities and improving the market competitiveness of enterprises. First, the role of entrepreneur psychology in decision-making was explained theoretically. Based on this, the relationship between the salary gap of employees and enterprise innovation was analyzed from a theoretical perspective. In the empirical analysis, this paper selected the data of China’s A-share manufacturing listed enterprises from 2012 to 2016 as the research sample. The explanatory variables include the salary of senior management, the salary of the ordinary employee and salary gap. The explained variable is enterprise innovation efficiency. By constructing an econometric model, this study used a multiple regression model to empirically analyze the correlation between the salary gap and innovation efficiency. The regression coefficients between monetary salary and equity salary of senior managers and enterprise innovation performance are 5.545 and 1.003, respectively. The regression coefficient between the salary of the ordinary employee and enterprise innovation efficiency is 8.357. The regression coefficient between the internal salary gap of the senior management team and the enterprise innovation efficiency is 3.552, both of which show a significant positive correlation at the 1% level. The regression coefficient between the salary gap between senior managers and ordinary employees and the enterprise innovation performance is −3.032, which is significantly negatively correlated at the 5% level. The internal salary gap of the senior management team has a significant positive effect on enterprise innovation efficiency. The salary gap between senior managers and ordinary employees has a negative effect on enterprise innovation efficiency. Enterprises should optimize the salary structure from two levels of senior managers and ordinary employees, to stimulate the work enthusiasm of employees at all levels, and promote enterprise innovation.

Addressing Gender Equity in Senior Leadership Roles in Translational Science.

Inequities for women exist across many leverage points of an academic career in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) disciplines, ranging from poorer success rates at promotion, reduced grant success, and a lower likelihood of invited conference presentations, to a propensity to undertake the lion's share of academic service roles. Moreover, an almost intractable salary gap exists, along with a stark under-representation of women in senior scientific leadership roles, widespread throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia. Numerous factors have been put forward as contributors to this disparity, including the notions that these inequities are a result of a pipeline issue and that women are less qualified or have less experience than men, implicit bias, a lack of flexibility in the work place, a lack of role models, the use of biased measures of success for promotion, and the lack of equitable parental leave programs. In this viewpoint, we address factors shown to contribute to the lack of women in leadership roles. Specifically, we look at systemic barriers, parental and carer leave, and domestic barriers, and we present solutions to address these barriers across an individual's professional and personal life. For women to achieve equity in senior scientific leadership roles, we believe that barriers across all facets of life need to be addressed and that the important contributions that women make and have made to STEMM need to be recognized.

Lost Relative Value Units: The Opportunity Cost of Training Surgical Residents

The private-academic surgeon salary gap is particularly large in the field of vascular surgery, with full professors earning 16% less than private practitioners. Despite institutional benefits and nonclinical sources of funding, relative value unit (RVU) targets are still pertinent in determining compensation for academic surgeons. The RVU system does not account for the additional time and effort required during teaching cases. A retrospective observational study was performed using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2005 to 2012. Five common vascular surgery procedures were identified using unique Current Procedural Terminology codes. All cases missing pertinent data were dropped. Resident cases were defined as those with resident plus attending available or present. One-to-one propensity score matching was performed to compare resident cases with nonresident (attending only) cases, controlling for patient age, race, ethnicity, body mass index, sex, comorbidities, American Society of Anesthesiologists class, and case classification. The national Medicare conversion factor was used to assign the dollar value per RVU for each year and was divided by the operative time to calculate RVUs per hour and dollars per hour. The t-test and χ2 test were used for statistical analysis. P < .05 was considered significant. There were 57,610 cases analyzed after matching for the following procedures: above-knee amputation (4526), below-knee amputation (5140), carotid endarterectomy (CEA; 37,542), endovascular aneurysm repair (5660), and femoral-distal bypass (4742). The average difference in operative time for all procedures combined was 25.13 minutes longer for resident cases, which translates to 2.727 lost RVUs per hour and $96.22 less per hour compared with nonresident cases (all P < .00). The average difference in length of stay was 0.47 day longer for resident cases (all P < .05 except CEA, which was not significantly different). There was no difference in mortality. More patients required reoperation when a resident was involved for above-knee amputation (7.47% vs 9.46%; P < .016), below-knee amputation (11.79% vs 14.32%; P < .007) and CEA (4.52% vs 5.04%; P < .018). Fewer patients had strokes after CEA cases if a resident was involved (331/18,771 vs 286/18,771); however, the difference was not statistically significant. The current system of RVUs does not adequately compensate surgeons for additional time spent teaching residents. A Current Procedural Terminology code for “teaching case” could compensate academic surgeons more appropriately within the RVU system. Narrowing the compensation gap between private and academic vascular surgeons may incentivize residents to consider a career in academic surgery.

The effect of transparency on the gender-based compensation gap in surgical disciplines within a large academic healthcare system.

Female representation in surgery and surgical subspecialties has increased over the last decade. Studies have shown a discrepancy in compensation in the field of surgery, and several groups have advocated for increasing transparency as a primary solution to decrease this gender salary gap in surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in compensation between genders in surgical specialties within a large academic healthcare system. Using a public compensation database from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016, this retrospective observational study analyzed salaries of full-time faculty surgeons within a large multi-institutional academic healthcare system. Surgeons included those who were employed for the entirety of 2016 and were full-time faculty who were then stratified according to surgical specialty and rank. The median base and median total salaries were compared between male and female surgeons with adjustment for rank and surgical specialty. There were 170 surgeons from eight surgical subspecialties included in the study with 29% being female (n = 50). Overall, unadjusted and adjusted median total salaries were significantly lower for female compared to male surgeons by $121,578 and $45,904, respectively. The three subspecialties with the highest compensation had a median total salary of $558,998 and had a high male to female ratio (3.7 male to 1 female), whereas the three subspecialties with the lowest compensation had a median total salary of $376,174 and had a male to female ratio of 1.5 male to 1 female. In a large academic healthcare system with transparent and publicly accessible salaries, the gender compensation gap in surgery persists. In conjunction with transparency, future academic institutions should consider a value-based, objective compensation plan with personal and systemic introspection of traditional gender biases, in efforts to circumvent the impact of gender on salary.

Salary of the employees of textile industry of Yaroslavl Governorate in the early XX century

&amp;nbsp; This article considers the questions of labor compensation of the industrial workers in prerevolutionary Russia based on the materials of one of the largest textile factories &amp;ndash; Yaroslavl Big Manufactory (YBM). Attention is focused on the dynamics of nominal and real salaries at different phases of business cycle, as well as the ratio of salaries between high- and low-paid groups of workers in the early XX century (depending on the level of qualification and gender affiliation). The research contains the archival materials preserved in the State Archive of Yaroslavl Oblast in the fund of the Yaroslavl Big Manufactory (F. 674), including personal records of the employees and payroll registers for the period from the end of the XIX &amp;ndash; beginning of the XX centuries. The conclusion is made that during the period of economic depression until 1908, the nominal salary of YBM employees grew faster than during the industrial ramp-up of 1909 &amp;ndash; 1913, which was justified by the policy of factory&amp;rsquo;s administration, which in 1905 &amp;ndash; 1907 raised the prices in order to meet the demands of the strikers. At the time of economic depression, the gap in salaries of high- and low-paid categories of workers (by professional, gender, and age groups) was reduced. In 1909 &amp;ndash; 1913, the previous level of salary differentiation gradually came back to the situation of the period of depression. The conducted research allows formulating the hypothesis that at the time of unfavorable economic conjuncture, the entrepreneurs were oriented towards reduction of salary differentiation by raising salaries of the low-paid categories to the level of higher-paid workers; while during the years of economic upswing, the level of salary differentiation was increasing again, which was justified by intention to improve labor motivation among most qualified workers. &amp;nbsp;

Projecting Grid Compression to Reduce Gender Salary Gaps

This paper examines the effects of grid compression on gender-based salary gaps. In this case, the workplace setting is a large Canadian research university previously found to have both a positionally segregated cohort of academic staff and a persistent gender-based differential in their salaries. The annual salary grids at this institution underwent seemingly subtle compressions over the course of two decades, with within-rank compression largely confined to the first decade and across-rank compression confined to the second decade. We employ a simulation methodology to check whether the two types of compression reduce the salary gap to varying degrees. After deflating staff salaries back to the start of each decade, we project the salaries forward using the historical annual increases and grids in place in each year at the university. We compute the gap present in the salary distribution at the start and end of each decade in the simulation, and check whether the gap decreased more across one decade than the other. We find that across-rank compression of the institution’s salary grid during the second decade narrows the salary gap to a greater extent than the within-rank compression of the earlier decade. Our work demonstrates that employers using stated salary grids could use simulation to monitor the equity effects of their pay policies and shows that they could accelerate the closure of gaps through consciously altering relationships among pay levels at different points in the grid’s hierarchy.

Compensation Gap of Executive Team and Innovation Efficiency

Based on the research of domestic and foreign scholars, this paper combines China’s unique economic environment and institutional background, based on the principal-agent theory and the tournament theory, and takes the data of 2007-2016 A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges as the sample. This article studies the relationship between pay gaps and innovation efficiency within executive teams. Research shows that there is a significant negative correlation between the salary gap of executive teams and the innovation efficiency, indicating that the larger the salary gap of executive teams, the lower the efficiency of R & D investment. The results are consistent with the argument that larger tournament incentives allow managers to make less efficient R & D investments.

Teaching as a career choice: A case study on the perceptions of emerging teachers

As fewer and fewer students choose teaching as a career, the teaching profession struggles to understand how to recruit more students into the field, and prevent current teachers from leaving. Data shows the need for new teachers will continue to increase (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond and Carver-Thomas (2016), while almost 70% of schools reported at least one unfilled vacancy to begin the 2011-12 school year (Malkus, Hoyer, &amp; Sparks, 2015). Teacher preparation programs are also graduating fewer students into teaching (2016). This qualitative case study investigated the perceptions and beliefs of undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory course on teaching. Data from this case study is expected to confirm prior research on the reasons why students choose teaching as a profession, and help teacher preparation programs investigate if students’ perceptions about becoming a teacher have changed. Results from this study support prior research on why students choose to become teachers, but also explores students views on how society views teaching, the continued salary gap with other professions, and the future of teaching.

Changes in factors influencing fellowship choices among radiology residents from 2008 to 2018 and methods that may increase interest in the pediatric radiology subspecialty.

Fewer residents are choosing a career in pediatric radiology, which is contributing to an ongoing shortage of pediatric radiologists. To identify potential causes of reduced interest in pediatric radiology as a career given a projected worsening of a nationwide shortage of pediatric radiologists. An online questionnaire using previously published questions was approved and distributed by the Program Directors in Diagnostic Radiology to diagnostic radiology residents on behalf of the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR). Descriptive statistics including means with standard error and independent t-tests were used to compare mean scores between survey years. Nearly all of the 353 respondents (90.9%) planned on pursuing a fellowship. The majority (57.7%) identified their fellowship subspecialty before the 3rd year of residency with only 5.7% selecting pediatric radiology. Overall, 18.2% of survey respondents favored academic practice compared to 40% in the pediatric radiology subgroup. Fellowship choices were most strongly based on area of strong personal interest, marketability and area of strong personal knowledge, while the pediatric radiology subgroup emphasized area of strong personal interest, increased interaction with other physicians and enjoyable residency rotations. The pediatric radiology subgroup believed their impact on patient care was more significant than other subspecialties. Pediatric radiology job opportunities were thought to be more limited, geographically confining, and to have lower salaries than other subspecialties. More flexible job opportunities and higher demand were identified as factors needing to change before a resident would consider a pediatric radiology career. The influence on fellowship selection is multifactorial. By emphasizing the favorable job market and marketability of pediatric radiology in all practice types/geographic locations, correcting perceived salary gaps and stressing the impact on patient care as early as medical school, the number of residents choosing a career in pediatric radiology may grow.

El webdoc como herramienta en la lucha por la igualdad: En la brecha (2018) del Lab RTVE

The webdoc, as an interactive and multimedia evolution of the cinematographic and television documentary, born with the development of the Internet, keeps the same essence of its precedents: its informative and denouncing character and its critical vision of reality. This paper analyses, using the case study methodology, the webdoc En la brecha, by RTVE Lab, which was created to celebrate the International Equal Pay Day, in 2018, and through which it was intended to denounce the existing salary gap –hence the title of the webdoc– between women and men in their average annual salary. At the same time, the webdoc also aims to make visible the work of women in those sectors in which they are under-represented, through the life experience and the testimony of seven women, of different professions. The project was not limited to showing these seven cases, but also offered other women the possibility to participate and contribute with their own experiences and opinions through the web –recorded by themselves, with a mobile or a webcam–. All the main protagonists and participants in the webdoc, as well as the director, are women.

Higher Income for Male Physicians: Findings About Salary Differences Between Male and Female Iranian Physicians

Background:In recent decades, the role of women in the organizations of developed and less developed countries has increased, but little is known about gender gap in salaries of Iranian physicians.Aims:To analyze the gender gap in the salary of physicians working in public health sector of Iran and its predicting factors in 2016.Study Design:Cross sectional study.Methods:Thirty thousand eight hundred and twenty four records about characteristics of study population were extracted from national human resources for health database. Nearest neighborhood matching technique was used to find adjusted differences of salary between male and female physicians. In addition, by using Oaxaca decomposition method, the reasons for the differences were found.Results:The results showed that there was a difference of 117 dollars in monthly salaries of male and female physicians in favor of men. Differences in male and female salaries could be predicted by place of work and residency, type of specialty, type of employment and marital status.Conclusion:Gender gap in physicians’ salaries exists in public health sector of Iran. The payment methods of salaries for men and women should be revised in order to remove the inequalities.

Las mujeres comunicadoras y relacionistas públicas en Costa Rica. Una aproximación a su perfil profesional.

Este artículo analiza la situación de las mujeres profesionales del ámbito de la gestión de la comunicación y las relaciones públicas en Costa Rica. Centrándonos en aspectos de corte estructural, el objetivo es estudiar la feminización de la profesión en el país, así como la existencia del denominado techo de cristal y de diferencias salariales entre hombres y mujeres. Finalmente, también se analizan los conocimientos de los profesionales costarricenses en cuanto a las nuevas tecnologías relacionadas con el big data.&#x0D; Se ha realizado un análisis estadístico con los datos cuantitativos de profesionales costarricense obtenidos en el proyecto Latin American Communication Monitor (2016-2017). Los resultados dan cuenta de la existencia mayoritaria de mujeres en la profesión, así como de la brecha salarial entre hombres y mujeres, del techo de cristal que limita el acceso de las mujeres a los puestos directivos y de un mayor conocimiento de las tendencias en comunicación por parte de las mujeres.

Continuation of Gender Disparities in Pay Among Academic Emergency Medicine Physicians.

The objective was to identify the effects of gender and other predictors of change in the salary of academic emergency physicians over a four sequential time period of survey administration, across a sample of physicians within different emergency departments (EDs) and within states representing the four main geographical regions of the United States. This was a successive cross-sectional observational study of EDs in the United States using an annual salary survey distributed to all Association of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine (AACEM) and Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine (AAAEM) members in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017 with a sample size of 7,102 respondents over all time periods. The primary variable of interest was the adjusted base salary, calculated to be the full-time effort of the physician without any enhancements (e.g., without stipend, release time, extra hours). Institutional predictive variables included U.S. region that ED was in and if the site was an academic or community academic hybrid ("community") ED. Individual level variables included gender, academic rank, years at academic rank, years at rank within the ED, and primary duty (clinical or other). A series of Wilcoxon tests were conducted to determine if the unadjusted difference in salaries by gender for each year of the survey were significantly different. The effects of relative change in adjusted base salary over time were assessed using a mixed-effects regression model, with institutional- and individual-level predictors included in the model. Data were provided by 81 departments across the four geographic regions of the United States (Northeast, South, West, and Midwest). Most of the survey respondents across the four time periods of administration were male (65%) and reported primary clinical appointments at an academic ED (94%). Overall salaries increased across the four time points of the data with an overall relative 10.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]= 9.6%-12%) change in median salary between 2013 and 2017; the relative percentage change for female respondents was 10.6% (95% CI= 9.4%-11.85%) and 11.1% (95% CI= 10.2%-12%) for males. Within survey years, not adjusting for academic rank, the median salary increase for males was higher ($226,746 in 2013 to $252,000 in 2017) than females ($217,000 in 2013 to $240,000 in 2017), with significance at all four time points (Z=6.33, p<0.001), with a median average salary gap of $12,000 in 2017. In the predictive model that adjusted for covariates, gender significantly predicted median adjusted salary, with males earning significantly more than females (F(1)=22.5, p<0.001). Despite previously published data showing an inappropriate gender salary gap in emergency medicine, this gap has remained essentially unchanged over the past 4 years.

What is the financial incentive to immigrate? An analysis of salary disparities between health workers working in the Caribbean and popular destination countries

BackgroundThe continuous migration of Human Resources for Health (HRH) compromises the quality of health services in the developing supplying countries. The ability to increase earnings potentially serves as a strong motivator for HRH to migrate abroad. This study adds to limited available literature on HRH salaries within the Caribbean region and establishes the wage gap between selected Caribbean and popular destination countries.MethodsSalaries are reported for registered nurses, medical doctors and specialists. Within these cadres, experience is incorporated at three different levels. Earnings are compared using purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates allowing for cost of living adjusted salary differentials, awarded to different levels of work experience for the chosen health cadres in the selected Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Dominica, St Lucia and Grenada) and the three destination countries (United States, United Kingdom and Canada).ResultsRegistered nurses in the destination countries, across all experience levels, have greater spending power compared to their Caribbean counterparts. Recently qualified registered nurses earn substantially more in the UK (86.4%), US (214.2%) and Canada (182.5% more). The highest PPP salary ($) gap amongst more experienced nurses (5-10 years) is found within the US, with a gap of 163.9%. PPP salary gaps amongst medical doctors were pronounced, with experienced cadres (10–20 years of experience) in the US earning 316.3% more than their Caribbean counterparts, whilst UK doctors (183.5%) and Canadian doctors (251.3%) also earning significantly more. Large salary differentials remained for medical specialists and consultants. US specialist salaries were 540.4% higher than their Caribbean based counterparts, whilst UK and Canadian specialists earned 95.2 and 181.6% more respectively.ConclusionThe PPP adjusted HRH salaries in the three destination countries are superior to those of comparable HRH working in the Caribbean countries selected. The extent of the salary gaps vary according to country and the health cadre under examination, but remain considerable even for newly qualified HRH. The financial incentive to migrate for HRH trained and working in the Caribbean region remains strong, with governments having to consider earning potential abroad when formulating policies and strategies aimed at retaining health professionals.