Understanding Gender Wage Disparities in Dermatology

Differences in compensation between men and women exist, despite having similar experiences. Here, we present data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) from 2022 of self-reported compensation rates of academic dermatologists. Women dermatologists comprised 36.95% (75/203) of full professors, 61.54% (152/247) of associate professors, and 63.47% (311/490) of assistant professors; among these, 52.17% (12/23) were service chiefs and 35.48 % (22/62) were department chairs. The data shows that, except for department chairs, women are reporting being paid less relative to men at all academic ranks. Division chiefs had the most significant (45.52%) wage difference (45.52%) between men and women at US $281,674. This is a $281,674 difference between men and women chiefs per year. Women earned US $91,738.73 less on average per year when considering all academic positions. Different career trajectories and societal pressures to take time off for family-related absences are two of many factors contributing to the observed differences. We conclude that engagement at a national, institutional, and personal level is needed to better understand the observed differences, and future research should focus on how to improve it.