the Gender Pay Gap

Compensation Disparity in the PA Profession Salary inequity among male and female PAs have been documented over several decades.1,3 This is despite comparable levels of experience and similar practice characteristics.2 These differences still exist. Oliver, DR, Carter, RD, Conboy JF. Practice characteristics of male and female physician assistants. Am J Public Health. 1984; 74(12): 1398-1400. Willis J. Explaining the salary discrepancy between male and female PAs. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. 1992;5:280–288.. Coplan B, Essary A, Virdan T, Cawley J, Stoehr J. Salary discrepancies between practicing male and female physician assistants. Women’s Health Issues. 2012;22(1):83-89. Among new graduate PAs, women earn less than men, even after controlling for variables including years of experience in healthcare, specialty, weekly hours worked, and monthly on call hours. Zorn J, Snyder J, Satterblom K. Analysis of incomes of new graduate physician assistants and gender, 1998-2006. J Allied Health. 2009;38(3):127-131

Examining the Gap: Compensation Disparity in the PA Profession Tim McCall, PhD Research Analyst tmccall@aapa.org James F. Cawley, MPH, PA-C, DHL (hon) Noël Smith, MA Senior Director, PA and Industry Research and Analysis nsmith@aapa.org

2015 Mean Compensation by Experience Source: AAPA. 2016 AAPA Salary Survey. Unpublished data.

2015 Mean Compensation by Experience and Gender Source: AAPA. 2016 AAPA Salary Survey. Unpublished data.

Total Compensation Wage Disparity (Not Controlling for Practice Demographics) 2015: Analysis Sample (7,259 PAs) $116,146 Mean W2/1099 compensation $93,913 $13,696 Mean bonus* $10,010 44.14 Hours worked/week 40.66 46.71 Weeks worked/year 45.59 12.63 Years of experience 9.22 51.4% Received bonus 45.4% 28.1% PA in leadership 16.9% 2.4% Fully owns/shares practice ownership 1.8% 3.4% Currently active duty military 0.6% These differences must explain away the disparity… right? Source: AAPA. 2016 AAPA Salary Survey. Unpublished data. * Bonus data calculated among PAs with values on all variables in gender analysis.

Sequential Regression Analysis Sequential regression with gender in the final step is a conservative test Initial Steps: Compensation-relevant predictors Geographic Region Major Specialty Area Practice variables (total years as a PA, hours worked, weeks worked) Leadership and military (leadership position, practice ownership, active duty) Bonus: received? Final Step: Gender as a predictor of compensation Allows for the prediction of total compensation from various practice variables and for determining the relationship gender and compensation have after controlling for practice demographics Conservative test Source: AAPA. 2016 AAPA Salary Survey. Unpublished data.

Practice Demographics Don’t “Explain Away” the Disparity Without controlling for practice demographics, a pay gap of ~$22,000 exists After controlling for practice demographics, a substantial pay gap of ~$12,800 still exists This is a larger amount than the average bonus. Source: AAPA. 2016 AAPA salary survey. Unpublished data.

Median PA Salary Over Time

Female/Male PA Median Salary Ratio Over Time In recent years, women have earned more as a percentage of men’s than in most years in the past 2 decades

Recommendations for PAs Training on soft skills such as contracts and negotiation Some research suggests women tend to negotiate less than men when the option for negotiation is ambiguous Awareness of salary ranges for position-based factors Experience, location, specialty, employer Know your value!

Recommendations for Employers Training for hiring/compensation managers End the use of previous salary during screening/hiring process Ending negotiation or providing more transparency Utilizing standardized compensation structures Each alternative has unique benefits and consequences

Conclusion Even when considering compensation-relevant factors, pay differences between men and women remain AAPA hopes to raise awareness of this problem and possible steps for solutions

the Gender Pay Gap Tim McCall, PhD James F. Cawley, MPH, PA-C Noël Smith, MA