This module is intended to increase awareness of the persistent and well-documented disparities in compensation and career advancement that women physicians face across clinical practice, academic medicine, and healthcare leadership. Despite comprising the majority of medical school graduates, women remain underrepresented at every rung of the academic and organizational ladder — and continue to be paid significantly less than their male counterparts at every stage of their careers. These inequities are not the result of individual choices or effort gaps; they are embedded in institutional structures, promotion criteria, compensation models, and workplace cultures. This module aims to equip participants with the knowledge, language, and practical tools to understand these systems, advocate effectively for themselves and their colleagues, and work toward institutional accountability and change.
Learning Objectives
Describe the scope and drivers of the gender pay gap in medicine, including how disparities begin at the point of hire and compound over a career.
Identify the structural, cultural, and institutional barriers to promotion in academic medicine, including how promotion criteria and processes disadvantage women, and distinguish barriers that can be addressed individually from those requiring systemic change
Explain the roles of mentorship, sponsorship, and professional networks in career advancement, and why sponsorship in particular is essential to closing the promotion gap.
Apply evidence-based strategies for salary negotiation, pay transparency, and institutional advocacy, including concrete actions that women’s groups, departments, and institutions can take to advance pay and promotion equity.
The following resources serve as the core materials for this module, ranging from scoping reviews to practical management guides:
Objective 1: Understanding the Pay Gap
Objective 2: Barriers to Promotion
Objective 3: Mentorship and Sponsorship
Objective 4: Strategies for Improvement
Designed for RAFT meetings, subdivided by module objectives.
General Discussion Questions:
When you hear the statistic that the physician gender pay gap is now 26% — approximately $121,000 per year — what is your reaction? Does that match your experience, or does it surprise you?
Have you ever negotiated a salary or promotion? What was your experience like? If you haven't negotiated, what stopped you, and what would make it easier?
How transparent is compensation in your practice or institution? Do you know what your colleagues earn? What are the benefits of salary transparency? Are there any downsides?
What does your institution's promotion process look like? Who decides, and what criteria are used? Have you ever seen a colleague passed over who shouldn't have been, or advanced who shouldn't have been?
Objective-Specific Discussion Questions