Salary Disparities in Academic Plastic Surgery: A Report on Gender, Racial, and Regional Pay Gaps

Ensuring salary equity is fundamental to fostering a fair and inclusive workplace. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to analyze salary trends and potential income disparities among academic plastic surgeons.

A cross-sectional analysis was performed using the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Faculty Salary Report, which provides deidentified summary data for full-time plastic surgery faculty at accredited US medical schools. Median salaries were stratified by faculty rank, gender, race/ethnicity, and geographic region.

Male faculty were compensated more than women at all ranks, and the salary gap increased at higher academic positions. Female division chiefs were paid approximately $100,000 less than male chiefs (median, $706,441 vs $809,823) and almost equally to male full professors ($704,390). Median salary for female full professors was roughly $150,000 short of their male counterparts ($553,326 vs $704,390). Black and Hispanic/Latino faculty earned less than non-Hispanic White faculty at all ranks; Asian American faculty were compensated similarly to White faculty. Compared to White counterparts, Black associate and assistant professors earned $0.91 on the dollar, and Hispanic/Latino associate and assistant professors earned $0.76 and $0.89 on the dollar, respectively. Hispanic/Latino female assistant professors specifically earned the lowest median salaries. Median compensation at most faculty ranks was highest in the Northeast and lowest in the Southern region of the United States.

This study highlights salary disparities that may perpetuate underrepresentation of women and certain racial/ethnic identities in academic plastic surgery. These findings should prompt careful review of relative faculty compensation within institutions.