Another Day, Another 82 Cents: A National Survey Assessing Gender-based Wage Differences in Board-certified Plastic Surgeons
Layne N. Raborn, Yevgeniya Gokun, Bianca J. Molina, Sarah Janse, Anna R. Schoenbrunner, Jeffrey E. Janis- Surgery
- General Medicine
Background:
Of 7461 actively practicing United States American Board of Plastic Surgery certified plastic surgeons, only 17% are women. In relation to this small number, gender inequities within the field have been the source of national discussions. Our study assessed the status of the gender-based wage-gap in plastic surgery and sought to identify possible causes.
Methods:
An anonymous 43-question survey was distributed to 2981 members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in 2021. Male and female responses were compared; an analysis also considering board-certification year was performed. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used for bivariate analysis. Continuous variables were compared with two-sample
Results:
Ten percent of contacted American Society of Plastic Surgeons members responded to our survey. Of the 288 respondents, 111 (38.5%) were women, and 177 (61.5%) were men. Men were more likely to have salaries over $400K USD per year (
Conclusions:
Women are significantly less likely to make salaries comparable to those of male plastic surgeons, related to shorter careers on average. An increase in female representation and career duration within the field is needed to improve the current wage-gap.