Gender differences in diagnostic radiologists' annual incomes.
OBJECTIVE
Specialty, work effort, and gender have been shown to be associated with physicians' annual incomes; however, careful examination of the association between provider gender and physician incomes after correcting for other factors likely to influence income has not been conducted at the subspecialty level. We sought to determine the association between provider gender and diagnostic radiologists' annual incomes after controlling for work effort, provider characteristics, and practice characteristics.


METHODS
Using survey responses that were collected throughout the 1990s from 491 actively practicing white diagnostic radiologists, we generated a linear regression model to determine the association between provider gender and radiologists' annual incomes after controlling for work effort, provider characteristics, and practice characteristics.


RESULTS
White female radiologists reported working 2% fewer annual hours than their white male counterparts. Female radiologists had practiced medicine for fewer years than males, 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, female radiologists' mean annual income was $273,907, or $80,090 (23%) lower than that for white males (95% CI: $113,930 lower to $46,250 lower, P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
During the 1990s, female gender was associated with lower annual incomes among diagnostic radiologists. Researchers should further explore the relationship between physician gender and incomes to determine what factors might cause the differences that we found.
Weeks
William B
WB
VA Outcomes Group REAP, Dartmouth Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences, VAMC (11Q), White River Junction, Vermont 05009, USA.
Wallace
Amy E
AE
D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010820:Physicians / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011287:Prejudice; D011871:Radiology / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data