The Assistant Professor Pay Gap: A Hidden Contributor to the Pediatric Subspecialty Workforce Crisis?

INTRODUCTION. Pediatric subspecialties face longstanding workforce shortages, with forecasts predicting worsening gaps in clinical coverage and trainee recruitment. While prior research has highlighted lower compensation in pediatrics compared to adult medicine, few studies have examined how these disparities vary by academic rank or how they have changed over time.1 Yet such understanding is essential to shaping effective institutional policies, advocacy efforts, and recruitment strategies.