TUESDAY, June 7, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- White male doctors in the United States earn significantly more than black male doctors, a new study finds.
And the news for female doctors is even more troubling. Women doctors earn much less than either white or black male doctors, the study found.
The findings came from a nationwide survey of doctors. The survey revealed that in 2010-2013, the annual median income of white male doctors was nearly 35 percent higher than for black male doctors. White male doctors earned a mean of $253,000 each year. Black male doctors had a mean yearly salary of $188,000, the survey showed.
Annual median income was $163,000 for white female doctors and $153,000 for black female doctors, the survey found.
The findings "highlight large disparities in income between white and black male physicians, and even larger disparities between male and female physicians," wrote study leader Dr. Anupam Jena, along with his colleagues. Jena is an associate professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, in Boston.
The study authors said these race- and gender-based income disparities won't be eliminated simply by opening up opportunities for minorities and women in higher-paying specialties. Efforts to eliminate these disparities might need to look beyond medical school admissions and training to the broader workplace, they said.
Further research is needed to understand what's behind these race and sex differences and whether they stem from disparities in job opportunity or other factors, the researchers concluded.
The study was published June 7 in The BMJ.
More information
Inequality.org has more about income inequality in the United States.
