Objective compensation systems can eliminate gender pay gap

Innovative compensation systems aimed at achieving fairness, consistency, and transparency in salaries among surgeons in academic medical centers can go a long way to closing the gender pay gap.

At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, research showed that a newly adopted compensation system – one not even designed to address gender disparities – boosted the salaries of female surgeons from 46% to 72% of the salaries of their male colleagues. A gender salary gap also narrowed at Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, after a new compensation policy was put into place.

The Oregon findings reveal that “gender bias did exist, and a universal compensation plan did assist in leveling the playing field as far as salaries go,” said study coauthor Kenneth S. Azarow, MD, interim chair of surgery at OHSU, in an interview.

The two studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Surgical Association.

Recent studies have revealed significant gaps in the salaries of female physicians, compared with their male counterparts. The challenge in this kind of study is to fairly compare salaries by adjusting for hours worked, time taken for family obligations, negotiated starting salary, and other factors that play into salary level.

A 2016 analysis of 590 surgeons at 24 medical schools found that men made a mean of $323,000 a year, compared with $270,000 among women. The gap persisted after adjustment for factors like years of experience and publication history at $280,000 (women) and $312,000 (men). The pay gap among 744 surgical subspecialists was even wider at $343,000 (men) versus $267,000 (women). After adjustment, male surgical subspecialists made $329,000, while women made $285,000 (JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176[9]:1294-304).

In 2015, the administration at Oregon Health & Sciences University instituted a school-wide “Faculty First” compensation plan. It aligns faculty pay – based on specialty and academic rank – with 3-year rolling median salaries in the Western region as reported by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

 

A study of compensation at OHSU led by Heather E. Hoops, MD, examined the salaries earned by certain department of surgery faculty during 2009-2017 and promotion and retention rates during 1998-2007. The study excluded instructors, the chair of the department, and some other faculty members whose salaries were based on specific bonuses.

The researchers found that prior to the change in 2015, the 24 female faculty made significantly less than the 62 men (P = .004). After the “Faculty First” initiative was implemented in 2015, salaries for both genders grew significantly and gender salary gap was virtually closed after that time.

The researchers found no gender disparity in time to promotion among the faculty. No significant difference was found in the rate of departure between male and female faculty (P = .73), although women who were not promoted tended to leave more quickly than their male counterparts.

“Objective compensation plans may work by mitigating gender-based implicit bias in the salary negotiation process and differences in salary negotiation style between females and males,” Dr. Hoops and her coauthors wrote. “However, objective compensation plans do not supplant the need for other institutional interventions, such as implicit bias training and objective and transparent promotion criteria, to improve gender equality among surgeons.”

 

In the other study, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers analyzed surgeon salaries earned during 2014-2017. In 2017, the university switched some surgeons to a new compensation system based on work revenue value units with incentives.

Of the surgeons at the institution, 31 men and 11 women were eligible for the new compensation system. Before it was put into place, female surgeons made 46% of the salaries of men with similar revenue value unit production. “Female surgeons are now earning 72% of what their male colleagues earn,” the researchers reported.

In an interview, study lead author Melanie Morris, MD, said the new pay system unexpectedly reduced the gender pay gap. “The rationale for this department compensation plan was to create a fair and transparent compensation system for all faculty,” she said. “In doing so, this plan unintentionally led to these described changes to equalize an unrecognized disparity. We are proud of the result and recognize there is still more work to do. Each institution should know their own data to see if a gender pay disparity exists and devise a plan to address it.”

 

OHSU Department of Surgery funded the Oregon study. The study authors report no disclosures. The University of Alabama at Birmingham study reports no funding. The study authors report no disclosures.

The complete manuscript of these studies and their presentation at the American Surgical Association’s 138th Annual Meeting, April 2018, in Phoenix, is anticipated to be published in the Annals of Surgery pending editorial review.

SOURCE: Morris MS et al. ASA Annual Meeting 2018, Abstract 4. Hoops HE et al. ASA Annual Meeting 2018, Abstract 9.

Innovative compensation systems aimed at achieving fairness, consistency, and transparency in salaries among surgeons in academic medical centers can go a long way to closing the gender pay gap.

At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, research showed that a newly adopted compensation system – one not even designed to address gender disparities – boosted the salaries of female surgeons from 46% to 72% of the salaries of their male colleagues. A gender salary gap also narrowed at Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, after a new compensation policy was put into place.

The Oregon findings reveal that “gender bias did exist, and a universal compensation plan did assist in leveling the playing field as far as salaries go,” said study coauthor Kenneth S. Azarow, MD, interim chair of surgery at OHSU, in an interview.

The two studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Surgical Association.

Recent studies have revealed significant gaps in the salaries of female physicians, compared with their male counterparts. The challenge in this kind of study is to fairly compare salaries by adjusting for hours worked, time taken for family obligations, negotiated starting salary, and other factors that play into salary level.

A 2016 analysis of 590 surgeons at 24 medical schools found that men made a mean of $323,000 a year, compared with $270,000 among women. The gap persisted after adjustment for factors like years of experience and publication history at $280,000 (women) and $312,000 (men). The pay gap among 744 surgical subspecialists was even wider at $343,000 (men) versus $267,000 (women). After adjustment, male surgical subspecialists made $329,000, while women made $285,000 (JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176[9]:1294-304).

In 2015, the administration at Oregon Health & Sciences University instituted a school-wide “Faculty First” compensation plan. It aligns faculty pay – based on specialty and academic rank – with 3-year rolling median salaries in the Western region as reported by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

 

A study of compensation at OHSU led by Heather E. Hoops, MD, examined the salaries earned by certain department of surgery faculty during 2009-2017 and promotion and retention rates during 1998-2007. The study excluded instructors, the chair of the department, and some other faculty members whose salaries were based on specific bonuses.

The researchers found that prior to the change in 2015, the 24 female faculty made significantly less than the 62 men (P = .004). After the “Faculty First” initiative was implemented in 2015, salaries for both genders grew significantly and gender salary gap was virtually closed after that time.

The researchers found no gender disparity in time to promotion among the faculty. No significant difference was found in the rate of departure between male and female faculty (P = .73), although women who were not promoted tended to leave more quickly than their male counterparts.

“Objective compensation plans may work by mitigating gender-based implicit bias in the salary negotiation process and differences in salary negotiation style between females and males,” Dr. Hoops and her coauthors wrote. “However, objective compensation plans do not supplant the need for other institutional interventions, such as implicit bias training and objective and transparent promotion criteria, to improve gender equality among surgeons.”

 

In the other study, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers analyzed surgeon salaries earned during 2014-2017. In 2017, the university switched some surgeons to a new compensation system based on work revenue value units with incentives.

Of the surgeons at the institution, 31 men and 11 women were eligible for the new compensation system. Before it was put into place, female surgeons made 46% of the salaries of men with similar revenue value unit production. “Female surgeons are now earning 72% of what their male colleagues earn,” the researchers reported.

In an interview, study lead author Melanie Morris, MD, said the new pay system unexpectedly reduced the gender pay gap. “The rationale for this department compensation plan was to create a fair and transparent compensation system for all faculty,” she said. “In doing so, this plan unintentionally led to these described changes to equalize an unrecognized disparity. We are proud of the result and recognize there is still more work to do. Each institution should know their own data to see if a gender pay disparity exists and devise a plan to address it.”

 

OHSU Department of Surgery funded the Oregon study. The study authors report no disclosures. The University of Alabama at Birmingham study reports no funding. The study authors report no disclosures.

The complete manuscript of these studies and their presentation at the American Surgical Association’s 138th Annual Meeting, April 2018, in Phoenix, is anticipated to be published in the Annals of Surgery pending editorial review.

SOURCE: Morris MS et al. ASA Annual Meeting 2018, Abstract 4. Hoops HE et al. ASA Annual Meeting 2018, Abstract 9.

Innovative compensation systems aimed at achieving fairness, consistency, and transparency in salaries among surgeons in academic medical centers can go a long way to closing the gender pay gap.

At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, research showed that a newly adopted compensation system – one not even designed to address gender disparities – boosted the salaries of female surgeons from 46% to 72% of the salaries of their male colleagues. A gender salary gap also narrowed at Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, after a new compensation policy was put into place.

The Oregon findings reveal that “gender bias did exist, and a universal compensation plan did assist in leveling the playing field as far as salaries go,” said study coauthor Kenneth S. Azarow, MD, interim chair of surgery at OHSU, in an interview.

The two studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Surgical Association.

Recent studies have revealed significant gaps in the salaries of female physicians, compared with their male counterparts. The challenge in this kind of study is to fairly compare salaries by adjusting for hours worked, time taken for family obligations, negotiated starting salary, and other factors that play into salary level.

A 2016 analysis of 590 surgeons at 24 medical schools found that men made a mean of $323,000 a year, compared with $270,000 among women. The gap persisted after adjustment for factors like years of experience and publication history at $280,000 (women) and $312,000 (men). The pay gap among 744 surgical subspecialists was even wider at $343,000 (men) versus $267,000 (women). After adjustment, male surgical subspecialists made $329,000, while women made $285,000 (JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176[9]:1294-304).

In 2015, the administration at Oregon Health & Sciences University instituted a school-wide “Faculty First” compensation plan. It aligns faculty pay – based on specialty and academic rank – with 3-year rolling median salaries in the Western region as reported by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

 

A study of compensation at OHSU led by Heather E. Hoops, MD, examined the salaries earned by certain department of surgery faculty during 2009-2017 and promotion and retention rates during 1998-2007. The study excluded instructors, the chair of the department, and some other faculty members whose salaries were based on specific bonuses.

The researchers found that prior to the change in 2015, the 24 female faculty made significantly less than the 62 men (P = .004). After the “Faculty First” initiative was implemented in 2015, salaries for both genders grew significantly and gender salary gap was virtually closed after that time.

The researchers found no gender disparity in time to promotion among the faculty. No significant difference was found in the rate of departure between male and female faculty (P = .73), although women who were not promoted tended to leave more quickly than their male counterparts.

“Objective compensation plans may work by mitigating gender-based implicit bias in the salary negotiation process and differences in salary negotiation style between females and males,” Dr. Hoops and her coauthors wrote. “However, objective compensation plans do not supplant the need for other institutional interventions, such as implicit bias training and objective and transparent promotion criteria, to improve gender equality among surgeons.”

 

In the other study, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers analyzed surgeon salaries earned during 2014-2017. In 2017, the university switched some surgeons to a new compensation system based on work revenue value units with incentives.

Of the surgeons at the institution, 31 men and 11 women were eligible for the new compensation system. Before it was put into place, female surgeons made 46% of the salaries of men with similar revenue value unit production. “Female surgeons are now earning 72% of what their male colleagues earn,” the researchers reported.

In an interview, study lead author Melanie Morris, MD, said the new pay system unexpectedly reduced the gender pay gap. “The rationale for this department compensation plan was to create a fair and transparent compensation system for all faculty,” she said. “In doing so, this plan unintentionally led to these described changes to equalize an unrecognized disparity. We are proud of the result and recognize there is still more work to do. Each institution should know their own data to see if a gender pay disparity exists and devise a plan to address it.”

 

OHSU Department of Surgery funded the Oregon study. The study authors report no disclosures. The University of Alabama at Birmingham study reports no funding. The study authors report no disclosures.

The complete manuscript of these studies and their presentation at the American Surgical Association’s 138th Annual Meeting, April 2018, in Phoenix, is anticipated to be published in the Annals of Surgery pending editorial review.

SOURCE: Morris MS et al. ASA Annual Meeting 2018, Abstract 4. Hoops HE et al. ASA Annual Meeting 2018, Abstract 9.