Male GPs in the NHS earn a third more than their female colleagues – despite the fact women account for the majority of doctors in general practice.
Government data – published on Friday as part of a review into equal pay in the health service – revealed a gender pay gap of 33%, even though 54% of GPs are women.
The news has sparked anger among female medics, with some slamming the figure as “shocking”.
“I’m really disappointed,” said Dr Zoe Norris, a GP in Yorkshire. “A GP is a GP. The way that GPs are paid is based on the number of hours they work and whether they are newly qualified or have been working a long time – the pay shouldn’t be that different.
“I’m quite embarrassed to be saying to younger women coming into medicine that actually, maybe we don’t value you as much in general practice as in other branches of medicine. That’s not a great message,” she added.
But it’s not just medics working in GP surgeries who are being hit by the NHS pay gap, the report showed.
Across the health service, male doctors pocket £1.17 for every £1 female doctors earn, with men dominating the highest-paid specialties like urology and surgery.
Meanwhile, there are only 18,000 female consultants in the NHS – representing around 36% of all the specialist doctors – despite the fact that two-thirds of doctors training at other levels are women.
Dr Sally Davies, a former president of the Medical Women’s Federation, said more must be done to change the culture in the health service.
“It has always been felt from senior sources that as more women come into medicine, the pay gap will go away,” the consultant geneticist said. “I don’t think it will. While it is going down slightly, it is still not disappearing as fast as we would expect and there are other factors involved.”
“The NHS needs to change to be more flexible, to welcome women back in if they take time out to have children or work less than full-time,” Davies said, having worked and trained part-time for 20 years of her career.
“Rather than it just being assumed that if you’re less than full-time, your heart isn’t in the job.”
Dr Helena McKeown, acting chair of the British Medical Association, said it was “fantastic” that more women were choosing medicine as a career – but said more must be done to achieve parity in earnings.
“We need to look at career pathways, reward and recognition structures and workplace culture to make sure that women doctors are able to achieve their potential in the profession and individuals are not unfairly penalised for taking time out when they have children, take on other caring responsibilities or work less than full time,” she said.
A full review into the NHS pay gap, set to be published later this year, is expected to address the reasons behind the wage disparities. When taking into account all roles in the NHS, the health service has a gender pay gap of 23%.
But health minister Stephen Hammond said that NHS bosses must play a key role in eradicating the pay gap.
“The founding principle of the NHS is to treat everyone equally, yet women employed in the health service are still experiencing inequality,” he said.
“Senior doctors and managers have an important role to play in breaking down barriers and championing equality as role models or mentors so aspiring doctors know they are joining a health service that encourages more women to reach their full potential.”