Gender Differences in Dermotologists' Annual Incomes

Careful examination of the relationship between dermatologists' gender and their incomes has not been conducted. We sought to determine the association between gender and the net annual incomes of dermatologists after controlling for physician work effort, provider characteristics, and practice characteristics. We conducted a retrospective analysis of survey data collected from 266 actively practicing office-based dermatologists who self-identified as white, lived in the United States, graduated from US medical schools, and responded to the annual American Medical Association (AMA) survey of physicians between 1992 and 2002. White female dermatologists reported seeing 21% fewer patients and working 16% fewer annual hours than white male dermatologists. White female dermatologists had practiced medicine for fewer years than white male dermatologists, were more likely to be employees as opposed to having an ownership interest in the practice, and were equally likely to be board certified. After adjustment for work effort, provider characteristics, and practice characteristics, the mean annual income of white female dermatologists was $215,311, or $81,746 (28%) lower than white male dermatologists (95% CI, $138,098 lower to $25,393 lower; P=.005). Our findings were limited to white dermatologists and to analysis of data collected in the surveys; we were not able to examine alternative explanations for the income disparities that we found. During the 1990s, female gender was associated with lower annual incomes among dermatologists practicing in the United States. Researchers should further explore the relationship between the gender and incomes of physicians to determine what additional factors might cause the differences that we found.