This week, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) adopted in-part an ACG resolution on the disparity in physician payment among men and women. AMA HOD meetings are held twice a year, and allow state and national societies to submit resolutions. If adopted, these resolutions then become AMA policy priorities. The ACG resolution tasked the AMA to prioritize efforts on reducing gender payment disparity among physicians by:
- creating an awareness campaign to inform physicians about their rights under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Equal Pay Act (together with the assistance of professional medical societies);
- helping U.S. public medical schools and facilities create guidance for institutional transparency of compensation, and regular gender-based pay audits (together with the assistance of professional medical societies); and
- recommending to eliminate the question of prior salary information from job applications for physician recruitment in academic and private practice.
Click here to read the ACG resolution (Resolution 011) before the June 2018 AMA House of Delegates Annual Meeting: Women Physician Workforce and Gender Gap in Earnings-Measures to Improve Equality
The ACG resolution was combined with three other similar resolutions on payment equity. This combined resolution, entitled “Advancing Gender Equity in Medicine” was ultimately adopted. This combined resolution directs the AMA to:
- draft and disseminate a report detailing its positions and recommendations for gender equity in medicine, including clarifying principles for state and specialty societies, academic medical centers and other entities that employ physicians;
- advocate for institutional, departmental and practice policies that promote transparency and best practices in defining the criteria for initial and subsequent physician compensation;
- recommend as immediate actions to reduce gender bias, such as elimination of the question of prior salary information from job applications for physician recruitment in academic and creating an awareness campaign to inform physicians about their rights under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Equal Pay Act, and establishing educational programs to help empower all genders to negotiate equitable compensation; and
- help create guidance for medical schools and health care facilities for institutional transparency of compensation
- Review AM’s internal compensation process, structure and leadership.
The ACG resolution was spearheaded by Suriya Sastri, MD, FACG and the ACG physician representatives to the AMA, Bruce Cameron, MD, FACG and March Seabrook, MD, FACG. The College commends Drs. Sastri, Cameron, and Seabrook for all of their efforts in getting this resolution adopted. ACG will continue to work with like-minded organizations to eliminate disparity in gender payment. ACG welcomes your help to recruit more involvement from other organizations.
