Pharmacists' compensation and work patterns, 1990-91

Several major trends were observed in these findings from the 1990-91 National Pharmacists' Compensation Survey (for details see the final report). Only 72.6% of licensed pharmacists were working full-time in pharmacy; another 14.4% were working part-time in pharmacy, and nearly 13.0% were either not working in pharmacy or not working at all. Although 90.0% of active men pharmacists were working full-time, only 70.7% of active women pharmacists were working full-time. Men were more likely to be working in independent and chain pharmacies as a manager or owner. Women were more likely to be working in hospital or chain pharmacies as a staff pharmacist. Pharmacists' base salary in 1990 was substantially higher for men than for women with averages of $46,661 versus $42,668. Total pharmacy compensation showed a similar pattern but an even greater spread between men and women with averages of $51,032 versus $44,751. However, after adjusting for years in practice and number of hours worked per week, the base HWE for employee pharmacists shows that men and women pharmacists do get "equal pay for equal work" in the first 20 years of practice. The difference that develops between men and women with more years in practice is probably due to the higher proportion of men in management positions and to differences in practice setting preferences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)