Study: High-paying medical specialty disparity persists as more women pursue surgical professions

Editor's Note

Although women are underrepresented in high-compensation medical specialties, new research shows a significant increase in female applicants and matriculants to surgical specialties specifically.

Published September 30 in JAMA Network, the study found that the proportion of women entering high-compensation surgical specialties rose from 28.8% to 42.4%. In contrast, the proportion of women in high-compensation nonsurgical specialties showed no significant change, remaining around 38%.

Researchers used data from the National Graduate Medical Education Census and Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS), analyzing matriculation and application trends over 14 years. Surgical specialties saw an increase in both female applicants and matriculants, while nonsurgical specialties saw a decrease in female applicants but no change in matriculation rates. The success rate for female applicants improved slightly in both categories, indicating more equitable selection but not enough to close the overall gap.

The findings highlight the continuing gender disparities in higher-paying medical fields, particularly nonsurgical specialties, researchers write. They call for further research into strategies that successfully attracted women to surgical specialties and speculate whether similar approaches could benefit nonsurgical fields.