One Chicago doctor is trying to keep women in medicine
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Dr. Shika Jain. Photo: Courtesy of Women in Medicine
Women physicians can make millions less than their male colleagues, but a Chicago oncologist is working to change that.
Why it matters: The pay gap is just one of the factors forcing women out of the profession, with negative effects on patient care.
Driving the news: More than 500 health care workers are meeting this weekend at the Women in Medicine Summit at The Drake Hotel to discuss this and other issues facing women doctors.
Flashback: Shikha Jain hosted the first Women in Medicine Summit in 2019 to create a forum for women to share frustrations and solutions.
What they're saying: "I faced all of these challenges that I thought were because I was the problem. I thought that I wasn't good enough for a leadership position, or I thought that I didn't get these opportunities because I must not be working hard enough," Jain tells Axios.
- "The more women I started talking to, the more I realized, 'holy cow! All of these other women are facing very similar challenges. Why are we not talking about this more?"
The big picture: Studies have found that women surgeons have lower hospital readmission rates than their male colleagues.
- They also spend more time with their patients, contributing to better comprehensive care.
How it works: Women in Medicine grew from an annual event into a nonprofit that offers leadership programs, especially for mid-career doctors, because research shows many women leave the profession, Jain says.
- The organization also works with medical students and trainees to provide mentorship.
By the numbers: Over the course of a career, single women physicians earn $1.6 million less than their male counterparts.
- Married physicians without children earn $2.5 million less.
- Women doctors with kids earn $3.1 million less, according to a 2023 JAMA Health Forum study.
Zoom in: The discrepancy begins early, with women starting at lower salaries and the gap widening as they advance.
- Women also tend to choose specialties like primary care and pediatrics, which can pay less than surgical subspecialties where more men work, Jain says.
- Women can be deterred from choosing surgery, Jain says, because they're told surgery wouldn't be good for work/life balance, especially if they want to have children.
The bottom line: The health care system still has a long way to go, but Jain feels encouraged that conversations about retaining women doctors are happening.
- And she's making sure women are at the table for those conversations.