THE GENDER PAY GAP IN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY IS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT

Gender inequity can take many forms. The gender wage gap between females and males in orthopaedic surgery remains one of the least well understood forms of gender-based disparities. The aim of this scoping review was to evaluate the globally-available quantitative data reporting wages and payment of female and male-identifying orthopaedic surgeons. Scoping review methodology was used to conduct a literature search of five bibliographic databases and nineteen grey literature sources. Two independent assessors reviewed the publications. To be included within the scoping review, articles must have reported primary quantitative data concerning orthopaedic surgeon earnings with inclusion of a gender-based analysis. Twenty-five publications were included in the final analysis. Nineteen papers identified gender-based differences in annual orthopaedic surgeon earnings, which included both salaries and fee-for-service payments. The remaining six papers conducted gender-based analysis of industry payments to orthopaedic surgeons. Data from the annual earnings papers demonstrated females earned 40.8 & 97.5% compared to their male colleagues. Twelve of the 19 papers reported statistically significant lower annual earnings for females (p < 0.05 – 0.0005). Analysis of industry payments demonstrated female surgeons earned 0.5 – 73.7% in comparison to males. Four of six industry payment papers demonstrated statistically significant gender-based pay differences (p < 0.001 – 0.0001). When converted to dollar equivalents, female surgeons earned $0.41 – $0.98 of annual earnings and $0.05 & $0.74 of industry payments for every $1.00 earned by male surgeons. The results of this global scoping review demonstratedthe gender pay gap in orthopaedic surgery results in statistically significant lower earnings for female- compared with male-identifying surgeons. The enormity of gender-based payment differences in orthopaedic surgery demands urgent evaluation into the cause of these differences in earnings to expedite equity within the field.