• Kaplan Sanders, Yalda Jabbarpour, Julie Phillips, Sarah Fleischer, and Lars E Peterson.
• From the Utah Tech University, Department of Accounting, Finance, and Data Analytics, St. George, UT (KS), Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies, Washington, DC (YJ), Michigan State University, Department of Family Medicine, Lansing, MI (JP), American Board of Family Medicine, Lexington, KY (SF, LEP), University of Kentucky, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Lexington, KY (LEP). kaplan.sanders@utahtech.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2024 Mar 1; 37 (2): 270278270-278.

PurposeNumerous studies have documented salary differences between male and female physicians. For many specialties, this wage gap has been explored by controlling for measurable factors that influence pay such as productivity, work-life balance, and practice patterns. In family medicine where practice activities differ widely between physicians, it is important to understand what measurable factors may be contributing to the gender wage gap, so that employers and policymakers and can address unjust disparities.MethodsWe used data from the 2017 to 2020 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) National Graduate Survey (NGS) which is administered to family physicians 3 years after residency (n = 8608; response rate = 63.9%, 56.2% female). The survey collects clinical income and practice patterns. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed, which included variables on hours worked, degree type, principal professional activity, rural/urban, and region.ResultsAlthough early-career family physician incomes averaged $225,278, female respondents reported incomes that were $43,566 (17%) lower than those of male respondents (P = .001). Generally, female respondents tended toward lower-earning principal professional activities and US regions; worked fewer hours (2.9 per week); and tended to work more frequently in urban settings. However, in adjusted models, this gap in income only fell to $31,804 (13% lower than male respondents, P = .001).ConclusionEven after controlling for measurable factors such as hours worked, degree type, principal professional activity, population density, and region, a significant wage gap persists. Interventions should be taken to eliminate gender bias in wage determinations for family physicians.© Copyright 2024 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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