Gender-Based Salary Disparities in Academic Otolaryngology: A Comparison Across Ranks

Introduction: Gender-based salary disparities persist in academic medicine, especially in surgery. This study examines salary gaps in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS) across academic ranks in comparison to other surgical specialties.

Methods: Using 2021–2023 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Faculty Salary Report, analyzed December 2024, we studied salary trends by rank and gender, calculating disparities as percentage differences between male/female earnings relative to female earnings. To assess variability, we evaluated distribution and skew (mean–median/mean).

Results: From 2021-2023, OHNS salary gaps were 19% at the assistant professor level ($66,765), 17% at associate professor ($78,062) and widened to 24% at professor ($112,474) and chair ($113,218). Despite disparities, women experienced higher yearly salary increases at assistant (5.0% vs. 4.5% for men) and associate professor levels (8.3% vs. 5.7% for men). When compared to other specialties, general surgery had narrower (6.8–13.9%) and decreasing pay gaps with seniority, while orthopedic surgery showed significantly wider disparities (27.0–84.1%), particularly at senior ranks. Orthopedic surgery also had the highest salary variability, with men having wider earning ranges (skew: 0.085–0.22) than women (0.019–0.052). OHNS showed moderate salary variability for men (0.12–0.13) and women (0.043–0.059), while general surgery had more uniform salary distribution (men: 0.023–0.079, women: 0.020–0.062).

Conclusions: Gender-based salary disparities persist in OHNS, especially at senior ranks. Although the gaps in OHNS are smaller compared to specialties like orthopedic surgery, they remain larger than those in general surgery, emphasizing the need for continued efforts toward gender equity in academic OHNS.