Equal Opportunities

                  Source: Gender gap in hospital medicine: Do women have the same opportunities?


The economic principle I’m exploring is “Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices”

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How do cultural differences affect wages between men and women in healthcare?”

 The article published in Today’s Hospitalist titled “Gender gap in hospital medicine: Do women have the same opportunities?” demonstrates this economic principle because it shows that although there is still a fairly big wage gap between men and women, there are places that are trying to make that change.

 First, the wage gap is a big problem that hasn’t stopped growing due to lack of acknowledgement. Deborah Gensensway’s article in Today’s Hospitalist, “Gender gap in hospital medicine: Do women have the same opportunities?”, she says that “2015 Today’s Hospitalist Compensation & Career Survey indicate that full-time women hospitalists who treat adults report earning 16% less than their male colleagues, a difference of more than $37,000 a year”.

 Second, if this issue isn’t resolved sooner rather than later, then women will always be under the suppression of men. Kevin Miller, author of “ The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap” (AAUW), he says that “ At the rate of change between 1960 and 2016, women are expected to reach pay equity with men in 2059. But even that slow progress has stalled in recent years. If change continues at the slower rate seen since 2001, women will not reach pay equity with men until 2119.” If the issue isn’t resolved soon then there’s a possibility that the wage gap will never change and possibly even widen.

 Third, there should be no reason to have such a big wage gap between men and women. There are places that are starting to try and change the distance between men and women in income. “Bina Desal ( MD at Chicago’s Loyola University Health System) says that the field has a great shot at being equitable because “we are young and there are 50-50 males-to-females going into hospital medicine”. 

In my next blog post I will research: Are there any actual laws taking part in the gender wage gap?