Women make up 77% of the health care workforce in the US, yet a significant wage gap persists. This wage gap affects not only their lifetime earnings but also their career progression. Previous studies have mainly focused on high-level roles like physicians, neglecting the wider health care workforce, especially those with an associate’s degree or less. There is also a lack of research on the evolution of the gender wage gap over the last two decades in relation to women’s roles in health care.
A recent study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) analyzed data from 2003 to 2021 to address this issue. The study found an 8% increase in women’s representation in health care roles requiring a master’s degree and a 42% increase at the doctorate/professional level. However, there was no change at the bachelor’s degree level. Men’s representation in nursing roles slightly increased.
The study also found that the wage gap was largest among workers in high-education health care fields. In 2021, the wage gap was smallest among workers with a bachelor’s degree (88%), followed by those with an associate’s degree (82%), some college (77%), master’s degree (77%), high school degree (72%), less than high school (71%) and professional school/doctorate degree (61%). The wage gap remained the same or increased in some lower-education roles, where men’s representation has increased.