BLOG: In an environment of gender bias, recognize your worth
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Gender bias occurs across the board in the ophthalmic field, just as in any other.
In this installment of the Women in Eyecare blog, members who represent ophthalmology, optometry and industry share their perspectives on career choices, interpersonal communication and the wage gap, and they also offer some inspiration.
The ophthalmologist’s perspective
As a member of an organization that promotes women in the eye care field, it is still surprising to me that in 2024 gender bias continues in all three components of the field: ophthalmology, optometry and industry.
We have all been called nurses or been told that the male technician — who the patient thought was the doctor — told them something different.
We see it every day, although the causes of the bias are not as obvious. When I have conversations with other doctors, they say that Medicare pays on relative value units, not by gender.
So, the wage gap has many diverse causes, starting with a lower base salary for a female ophthalmologist, at $30,726.51 ( Jia et al.). This difference holds even when adjusted for operating room and clinic times. The situation sets us up to always be behind, as salary increase percentages will always be lower.
As a mother of two, I also found that my career choices delayed my professional progression. I personally chose to remain an employee to be able to be with the family and not have the after-hour management work of a practice owner. As the girls grew, I adopted more roles in lecturing and industry to fulfill my professional life. Being the caregiver of children or grandparents, running a household and having a desire to work fewer hours are all choices we have as women, but there is also the dreaded impostor syndrome.
One study in telemedicine found that female doctors spent up to 1 minute longer with each patient than our male counterparts, leading to fewer encounters per day. Women also ordered less testing, thereby decreasing collections. This may be due to us trying to validate our knowledge or our desire to spend more time with our patients. At the end of the day, it shows in the wage gap. However, satisfaction scores are similar between male and female doctors (Martinez et al. ).
The pressures of work, family life, impostor syndrome and infertility all have led to increased burnout rates among female ophthalmologists (up to 68%), resulting in work dropout (Sedhom et al.).
As we navigate our financial future, work-life balance must be at the forefront. Although the wage gap is real, job satisfaction tends to be fulfilled in 61% of respondents in the recent Women in Ophthalmology meeting poll (Arosemena et al.).
If what you are doing brings you joy, continue doing it. Life is more than just money — it’s about family, vacations and moments of happiness. If it does not bring you joy, be part of the change.
The optometrist’s perspective
As we mature through our professional careers, different life experiences mold the way we think, the way we act and the way others treat us.
I never felt that because I’m a woman I have been paid unfairly for work I have delivered. This may arise from the fact that about 80% of optometrist graduates in recent years are women. Women are shaping the optometric profession. Yet I have seen that as a female entrepreneur, differences do exist among the genders.
As a young professional, excited to embark into my first few optometric positions, I quickly learned the biases that existed. Maybe it wasn’t in the dollar amount, but more so in the level of expectations and professionalism.
Several times while being interviewed I was questioned about future family plans, and I saw a stigma associated discussing intended pregnancy in a few places I worked. It’s crazy to think about it, but getting pregnant is not something that really enhances your professional career. Men I have worked alongside have been able to excel because they don’t bear children.
Later, as I moved up the professional ladder, I quickly realized that even though I was among a profession that was dominated by so many women, there weren’t as many that sat alongside me in the corporate entrepreneurial roundtable. At times I’ve been told by very entrepreneurial and administrative male figures that I’m not like other women. I’m not sure whether to interpret this as a compliment or cynicism.
Regardless of the biases that may exist, we own our own future and we can surpass any limiting expectation or thoughts based on our female origin through our actions.
The industry perspective
Being part of a corporate company allows me to meet and interact with many women in my field across the nation who hold different positions and support our industry in various ways. Fellow industry professionals have expressed feelings of burnout, mental exhaustion and trouble achieving healthy work-family life balance while trying to achieve equal pay as their male counterparts, leaving them feeling underwhelmed by a job they otherwise love and enjoy. So this leads to the question: “Do women have to do more to achieve success in their career while making less?”
The wage gap is not just a physical value, but the actual work value we as women put into it. The expectation to maintain the household while caring for our families and having a successful career leads to women bearing a weight that is not expected of men, while still earning less.
This year, Forbes quantified the gap, saying women across all industries earn, on average, 16% less than men, and the gap increases as age is factored in. When narrowing it down to individual industries, the gap is as high as 60%.
To add to this, another study reviewing the wage gap in executive positions claims that during the pandemic years a lot of progress was undone. To quote Jackie Cook, director of stewardship, product strategy and development at Morningstar, “Indeed, female C-suite pay as a percentage of pay earned by their male counterparts fell to a record low for the 9-year period since 2012. While the number of women at the top of the corporate ladder has inched up, women will have to wait until 2060 to reach representation parity at the present rate of progress.”
According to a 2022 article from the Society for Human Resource Management, C-suite pay at S&P 500 companies grew by 24% from 2012 to 2020, although men experienced greater gains during this time than women — 27% vs. 10%.
In the eye care industry in 2021, male optometrists earned an average of $189,260 per year, while women earned $165,447. I can safely say that the answer to the question according to multiple sources is, “Yes.”
Overall, in 2024 we would hope to have more equality, but we can find solace in knowing that the work we do matters to our industry. Women must keep their drive, ambition and passion for what they do because their work is important. We will continue to fight for equality and lead our industries — despite being underrecognized.
References:
- Arosemena A, et al. Battle of the wage gap. Presented at: Women in Ophthalmology meeting; Aug. 27, 2023; Marco Island, Florida.
- Gender pay gap for executives grew during pandemic. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/gender-pay-gap-for-executives-grew-during-pandemic.aspx. Published Feb. 28, 2022.
- Gender pay gap statistics in 2023. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/gender-pay-gap-statistics/. Published Feb. 27, 2023. Updated March 1, 2024.
- 2021 income: Back on the playing field. https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/2021-income-back-on-the-playing-field. Published Dec. 15, 2021.
- Jia JS, et al. Ophthalmology. 2021;doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2020.11.022.
- Martinez KA, et al. Cureus. 2022;doi:10.7759/cureus.29158.
- Sedhom JA, et al. J Cataract Refractive Surg. 2022;doi:10.1097/j.jcrs.0000000000000837.
- The gender pay gap for doctors is getting worse. Here’s what women make compared to men. https://time.com/5566602/doctor-pay-gap/. Published April 10, 2019.
For more information:
Analisa Arosemena, MD, is a glaucoma and anterior segment surgeon in Miami. She can be reached at arosemenamd@gmail.com. Giannie Castellanos, OD, practices at Infinite Vision Eye Care in Miami Lakes, Florida. She can be reached at Giannie1@icloud.com. Francessca Piedra, OD, is a CooperVision myopia and specialty eye care account executive. She can be reached at fkpiedra@gmail.com.
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