Recent research indicates support for a meritocratic view of the persistent gender gap in physician incomes: Young male physicians continue to outearn young female physicians because they are located in more lucrative specialties and practices and work longer hours. Using a sample of 321 physicians married to physicians, regression analyses are conducted to examine the direct and indirect effects of gender on income. Although traditional human capital variables and structural labor market variables explain part of the income gap, family context variables explain much and call attention to the importance of the work-family interface in studies of physician income. Despite similar human capital investments and labor market locations, women married to physicians tend to do family, and men married to physicians tend to do career. The findings challenge a meritocratic view and suggest a closer look at the gendered assumptions of the institutions within which physicians reproduce and labor.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Medical Association. (1997). [On-line]. Available: http://www.ama-assn.org/mem-data/wmmed/infoserv/data/table11-12.htm
2.
Baker, L.
(1996). Differences in earnings between male and female physicians. New England Journal of Medicine, 334, 960-964.
3.
Becker, G.
(1965). A theory of the allocation of time. Economic Journal, 75, 493-517.
4.
Becker, G.
(1991). A treatise on the family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
5.
Bielby, W.
, & Baron, J. N. (1986). Men and women at work; sex segregation and statistical discrimination. American Journal of Sociology, 13, 562-564.
6.
Bielby, W.
, & Bielby, D. (1988). She works hard for the money: Household responsibilities and the allocation of work effort. American Journal of Sociology, 93, 1031-1059.
7.
Bielby, W.
, & Bielby, D. (1989). Family ties: Balancing commitments to work and family in dual earner households. American Sociological Review, 54, 76-89.
8.
Bird, C. E.
(1996). An analysis of gender differences in income among dentists, physicians, and veterinarians in 1987. Research in the Sociology of Health Care, 13A, 31-61.
9.
Bird, C. E.
, Lang, M. E., Chertoff, J., & Amick, B. (1999, August). Organizational supports for and barriers to part-time work arrangements for professionals: The case of radiology. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago.
10.
Blossfeld, H.-P.
, Drobnic, S., & Rohmer, G. (1996). Employment patterns: A crossroad between class and gender: A long-term longitudinal study of spouses and careers in West Germany (Report No. 33). Sonderforschungsbereich 126 der Universität Bremen.
11.
Bobula, J.
(1980). Work patterns, practice characteristics, and incomes of male and female physicians. Journal of Medical Education, 55, 826-833.
12.
Brotherton, S. E.
, & LeBailly, S. A. (1993). The effect of family on the work lives of married physicians: What if the spouse is a physician, too?Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, 48, 175-181.
13.
Duncan, G.
, & Corcoran, M. (1984). Do women “desire” to earn less than men? In G. Duncan (Ed.), Years of poverty, years of plenty (pp. 153-172). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
14.
England, P.
(1992). Comparable worth: Theories and evidence. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
15.
England, P.
, & Farkas, G. (1986). Households, employment, and gender: A social, economic, and demographic view. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine.
16.
England, P.
, Herbert, M. S., Kilbourne, B. S., Reid, L., & McCreary, M. (1994). The gendered valuation of occupations and skills: Earnings in 1980 census occupations. Social Forces, 73, 65-99.
17.
England, P.
, Kilbourne, B. S., Farkas, G., & Dou, T. (1988). Explaining occupational sex segregation and wages: Findings from a fixed effects model. American Sociological Review, 53, 544-588.
18.
England, P.
, & McCreary, L. (1987). Gender inequality in paid employment. In B. B. Hess & M. M. Ferree (Eds.), Analyzing gender: A handbook of social science research (pp. 286-320). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
19.
Epstein, C. F.
, Seron, C., Oglensky, B., & Saute, R. (1999). The part-time paradox: Time norms, professional life, family and gender. Boston: Routledge Kegan Paul.
20.
Estes, S. B.
, & Glass, J. (1996). Job changes following childbirth: Are women trading compensation for family-responsive work conditions?Work and Occupations, 23, 405-436.
21.
Fried, M.
(1998). Taking time: Parental leave policy and corporate culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
22.
Gerson, K.
(1985). Hard choices: How women decide about work, career, and motherhood. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
23.
Glass, J.
(1999). The tangled web we weave: Editorial introduction to the special issue on ethnicity, race, and gender in the workplace. Work and Occupations, 26, 415-421.
24.
Goyder, J. C.
(1981). Income differences between the sexes: Findings from a national Canadian survey. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 18, 321-342.
25.
Grant, L.
, Simpson, L. A., Rong, X. L., & Peters-Golden, H. (1990). Gender, parenthood, and work hours of physicians. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 39-49.
26.
Han, S.
, & Moen, P. (1999). Work and family over time: A life course approach. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes & B. K. Gogins (Eds.), The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (Vol. 562, pp. 98-110). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
27.
Heins, M.
(1985). Update: Women in medicine. Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, 40, 43-50.
28.
Hertz, R.
(1986). More equal than others: Women and men in dual career marriages. Los Angeles: University of California.
29.
Hinze, S. (1995). The intra-occupational sex segregation of physicians: Why gender matters. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Vanderbilt University.
30.
Hinze, S.
(1999). Gender and the body of medicine or at least some body parts: (Re)constructing the prestige hierarchy of medical specialties. Sociological Quarterly, 40, 217-239.
31.
Hochschild, A.
(1989). The second shift: Working parents and the revolution at home. New York: Viking.
32.
Hochschild, A.
(1997). The time bind: When work becomes home and home becomes work. New York: Metropolitan Books.
33.
Hofferth, S.
(1996). Effects of public and private policies on working after childbirth. Work and Occupations, 23, 387-404.
34.
Izraeli, D. N.
(1994). Money matters: Spousal incomes and family/work relations among physician couples in Israel. Sociological Quarterly, 35, 69-84.
35.
Jacobs, J.
(1989). Revolving doors: Sex segregation and women's careers. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
36.
Jacobs, J.
(1995). Gender inequality at work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
37.
Jacobs, J.
, & Gerson, K. (2000). Do Americans feel overworked? Comparing ideal and actual working time. In T. Parcels & D. Cornfield (Eds.), Work and family: Research informing policy (pp. 71-95). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
38.
Jacobs, J.
, & Lim, S. T. (1992). Trends in occupational and industrial sex segregation in 56 countries. Work and Occupations, 19, 450-486.
39.
Johnson, B. E.
, Johnson, C. A., & Liese, B. S. (1991). Dual-doctor marriages: The British experience. Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, 46, 155-159.
40.
Johnson, C. A.
, Johnson, B. E., & Liese, B. S. (1992). Dual-doctor marriages: Career development. Family Medicine, 24, 205-208.
41.
Kemp, A. A.
, & Beck, E. M. (1986). Equal work, unequal pay: Gender discrimination within work-similar occupations. Work and Occupations, 13, 324-327.
42.
Kletke, P. R.
, Marder, W. D., & Silberger, A. B. (1990). The growing proportion of female physicians: Implications for U.S. physician supply. American Journal of Public Health, 80, 300-304.
43.
Knoke, D.
, & Ishio, Y. (1998). The gender gap in contemporary job training. Work and Occupations, 25, 141-167.
44.
Lorber, J.
(1982). How physician spouses influence each other's careers. Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, 37, 21-36.
45.
Lorber, J.
(1984). Women physicians: Careers, status, and power. New York: Tavistock Publications.
46.
Lorber, J.
(1987). A welcome to a crowded field: Where will the new women physicians fit in?Journal of American Medical Women's Association, 42, 149-152.
47.
Lorence, J.
(1987). Interoccupational earnings inequality: Human capital and institutional determinants. Work and Occupations, 14, 236-260.
48.
Lundgren, L.
, Barnett, R., & Gareis, K. (1998, November). An examination of physicians' reduced hour schedules. Paper presented at Work and Family: Today's Realities, Tomorrow's Visions, Boston.
49.
Mannheim, B.
(1993). Gender and the effects of demographics, status and work values on work centrality. Work and Occupations, 20, 3-22.
50.
Marini, M. M.
(1989). Sex differences in earnings in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology, 15, 343-380.
51.
Marsden, P. V.
, Kalleberg, A. L., & Cook, C. R. (1993). Gender differences in organizational commitment: Influences of work positions and family roles. Work and Occupations, 20, 368-390.
52.
Martin, S. C.
, Arnold, R. M., & Parker, R. M. (1988). Gender and medical sociolization. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 29, 333-343.
53.
Maume, D. J., Jr.
(1985). Government participation in the local economy and race- and sex-based earnings inequality. Social Problems, 32, 285-299.
54.
Maume, D. J., Jr.
(1999). Glass ceilings and glass elevators: Occupational segregation and race and sex differences in managerial promotions. Work and Occupations, 26, 483-509.
55.
Milkie, M. A.
, & Peltola, P. (1999). Playing all the roles: Gender and the work-family balancing act. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 476-490.
56.
Miller-Loessi, K.
(1992). Toward gender integration in the workplace: Issues at multiple levels. Sociological Perspectives, 35, 1-15.
57.
Moen, P.
(1998, November). Changes in the lives of women and men. Paper presented at Work and Family: Today's Realities, Tomorrow's Visions, Boston.
58.
Ohsfeldt, R. L.
, & Culler, S. D. (1986). Differences in income between male and female physicians. Journal of Health Economics, 5, 335-346.
59.
Parcel, T.
, & Cornfield, D. (2000). Work and family: Research informing policy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
60.
Pleck, J. H.
(1977). The work-family role system. Social Problems, 24, 417-427.
61.
Potuchek, J. L.
(1997). Who supports the family? Gender and breadwinning in dual-career marriages. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
62.
Quick, H.
, & Moen, P. (1999, August). Careers in competition? An analysis of U.S. couples' employment trajectories. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association Meeting, Chicago.
63.
Relman, A. S.
(1980). Here come the women. New England Journal of Medicine, 302, 1252-1253.
64.
Reskin, B. F.
, & Padavic, I. (1994). Women and men at work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
65.
Reskin, B. F.
, & Roos, P. A. (1990). Job queues, gender queues: Explaining women's inroads into male occupations. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
66.
Risman, B. J.
(1998). Gender vertigo: American families in transition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
67.
Rosenfeld, R.
(1980). Race and sex differences in career dynamics. American Sociological Review, 45, 583-609.
68.
Rosenfeld, R.
, & Spenner, K. (1992). Occupational sex segregation and women's early career job shifts. Work and Occupations, 19, 424-449.
69.
Sandberg, J.
, & Cornfield, D. (2000). Returning to work: The impact of gender, family, and work on terminating a family or medical leave. In T. Parcels & D. Cornfield (Eds.), Work and family: Research informing policy (pp. 161-184). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
70.
Seron, C.
, & Ferris, K. (1995). Negotiating professionalism: The gendered social capital of flexible time. Work and Occupations, 22, 22-47.
71.
Silberger, A.
, Marder, W., & Wilke, R. (1987). Practice characteristics of male and female physicians. Health Affairs, 6(4), 104-109.
72.
Sobecks, N. W.
, Justice, A., Hinze, S., Chirayath, H., Lasek, R., Chren, M., Aucott, J., Juknialis, B., Fortinsky, R., Youngner, S., & Landefeld, S. (1999). When doctors marry doctors: A survey exploring the professional and family lives of young physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 130, 312-319.
73.
Tesch, B. J.
, Osborne, J., Simpson, D. E., Murray, S. F., & Spiro, J. (1992). Women physicians in dual-physician relationships compared with those in other dual-career relationships. Academic Medicine, 67, 542-544.
74.
Tolbert, P. S.
, & Moen, P. (1998). Men's and women's definitions of “good” jobs: Similarities and differences by age and across time. Work and Occupations, 25, 168-194.
75.
Tomaskovic-Devey, D.
(1993). The gender and race composition of jobs and the male/female, White/Black pay gap. Social Forces, 72, 45-76.
76.
Tomaskovic-Devey, D.
, & Skaggs, S. (1999). An establishment-level test of the statistical discrimination hypothesis. Work and Occupations, 26, 422-445.
77.
Trappe, H.
(1996). Work and family in women's lives in the German Democratic Republic. Work and Occupations, 23, 354-377.
78.
Treiman, D.
, & Hartmann, H. (1981). Women, work and ways: Equal pay for jobs of equal value (Report of the Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis, Assembly of Behavioral and Social Sciences). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
79.
Uhlenberg, P.
, & Cooney, T. (1990). Male and female physicians: Family and career comparisons. Social Science and Medicine, 30, 373-378.
80.
Weisman, C. S.
, & Teitelbaum, M. A. (1987). The work-family role system and physician productivity. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 28, 247-257.
81.
West, C.
, & Zimmerman, D. (1987). Doing gender. Gender and Society, 1, 125-151.
82.
Williams, C. L.
(1989). Gender differences at work: Women and men in nontraditional occupations. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
83.
Williams, J.
(2000). Unbending gender: Why family and work conflict and what to do about it. New York: Oxford University Press.
