Even Nurse Practitioners Face a Gender Pay Gap

We have all heard about the national gender pay gap–that women make 20% less than their equal male counterparts–but does this also impact nurse practitioners? Recent research suggests, yes! There IS a nurse gender pay gap. Female nurse practitioners are making less money than male nurse practitioners with the same education, practicing in the same specialty in the same clinical setting.

This article opens with background on the national gender pay gap and its causes, including sex discrimination and gender bias. The article concludes by discussing the nurse practitioner-specific pay gap and what nurse practitioners can do to address its harmful effects.

This article was originally written for Clinician Today. Click here to view the article on their site.

National Gender Pay Gap

In 2015, the American Association of University Women (AAUM) determined that women working full- time in the United States (across all professions) were paid 80% of what men were paid– a 20% wage gap. This means that for a woman performing the same job as a man, she earns $80,000 while he earns $100,000.

These pay disparities worsen in southern, mountain, midwestern states, with a wage gap of up to 46%, and the disparities “improve” on the east and west coasts, with a smaller wage gap of around 11%. Wyoming and Louisiana currently possessed the largest pay disparities in the United states, whereas New York and Delaware have the smallest. Furthermore, the pay gap is 2.5 times higher than is seen in other industrialized countries around the world.    

Moreover, the gender pay gap is higher for women of color and for older women. In fact, the gender pay gap is worse for mothers and it worsens as women age. And it doesn’t matter how highly educated a woman is, even those with doctorate degrees experience the same gender pay gap as those with less than a high school education. You can read the entire AAUM report here.

What Causes This Pay Gap?

Employer discrimination and biases are the culprits for the gender pay gap. Some argue that the pay gap reflects women’s and men’s different career choices– that women are more likely to choose lower paying positions. While it is true that women tend to fill positions in education and healthcare and men tend to fill positions in finance and transportation, women in the same professions as men still earn less. Women earn less than their male counterparts (performing the same job) at every education level and in nearly every line of work.

A possible cause of the pay difference reflects the impact of becoming a parent, which produces different professional outcomes for women versus men. Research demonstrates that companies are less likely to hire mothers (including mothers who never left the workforce) compared with child-free women. In addition, employers offer mothers much lower salaries than they do other women.

Each year, women bring thousands of sex discrimination cases to the federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commissions and most of these are decided in favor of the woman. Due in part to this discrimination, men hold 74% of private-sector executive positions. Research investigating the past 50 years of United States workforce data found that when women enter a previously male-dominated profession, average wages for that occupation fall dramatically. This research demonstrates the presence of gender bias in the workforce– that is, employers pay men more because they are men.  

To read more about what causes these disparities and to learn more about gender bias, check out the AAUW Educational Foundation’s Behind the Pay Gap.

The Nurse Practitioner Pay Gap

According to their 2015 compensation survey, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) found that the average annual income for nurse practitioners (across all specialties and settings) was $108,643.  When broken down by area of specialty, psychiatric nurse practitioners earned the highest ($132,115 per year), and women’s health nurse practitioners earned the lowest a ($101,787). The full study can be accessed for free by AANP members and purchased by the public here.

Some preliminary data (unpublished data lacking sources) has demonstrated that nurse practitioners face a gender pay gap. Even though most nurse practitioners are women, it appears that they are compensated 11% less than their male counterparts. The largest pay gap exists in the geriatrics medical specialty where men make 13% more than women. If a male geriatric nurse practitioner earns $121,000 per year (the average based on salary data from the AANP) than an equally educated and experienced female in the same field would make $15,730 less per year.

These findings mirror the gender pay gap seen among male and female physicians (published data), registered nurses (published data),  and physician assistants.

What You Can Do

How can nurse practitioner bridge this gender pay gap in medicine? Supporting local and national legislation is the first step to taking action against the gender pay gap. Nurse practitioners should encourage their congresspersons to support the Paycheck Fairness Act and Fair Pay Act. Additionally, in 2016, the White House launched the Equal Pay Pledge, which encourages business to take action to advance equal pay. If your employer has not signed this pledge, encourage them to do so!

What are your thoughts on the gender pay gap experienced by nurses and nurse practitioners? Comment below or email me!