Women working as doctors and dentists in NHS Scotland can expect to earn £10,000 less a year than their male counterparts, according to new figures, which also point to an even greater disparity for administrative roles.

The stark gender pay gap in medicine and dentistry is thought to be due to the dominance of men in senior roles and the Scottish government told healthandcare.scot it was working to “increase equality of access” to the highest-paid positions.

In the 2020/21 financial year, average full-time earnings for female doctors and dentists came to £59,167, compared to £69,804 for men.

This works out as a 15.2% difference, compared to a 3% gap for all full-time employees across the economy.

The doctors’ trade union, the BMA, says more needs to be done to support women into senior roles.

NHS Scotland’s overall gender pay gap stands at 18.2%, having fallen slowly but steadily over the last five years.

The average annual basic pay for a woman employed by the health service in the last financial year was just under £31,000, versus £37,838 for men.

The figures were provided to healthandcare.scot following a freedom of information request.

They show that administrative services have the highest percentage gender pay gap, on 22%, followed by medical and dental support on 16.7%, and then personal and social care on 16.6%.

Some job ‘families’, such as emergency services, allied health professionals, and nursing and midwifery, have very small or non-existent gender pay gaps.

The £10,000 difference for doctors is down to an “imbalance” in the highest-paying roles, says Dr Patricia Moultrie.

Dr Moultrie, who is deputy chair of BMA Scotland, says, while the pay gap had narrowed slightly in the last few years, it is “still persistently far too high”.

She told healthandcare.scot: “The year-on-year increase in women choosing medicine as a career has yet to translate into equivalent numbers of senior doctors, particularly in some of the higher-paying specialities, and it is this that is reflected in the gender pay gap.

“Individuals must not be unfairly treated for taking time out to have a family, take on other caring responsibilities, or work less than full time – we need to be fully supportive of women who are trying to break through the barriers, and the Scottish Government and health boards must work together to identify effective ways of accelerating change, and address the imbalance between men and women in senior medical roles.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “NHS Scotland is committed to equal pay and our rates are the same for both male and female workers.  Any gender pay gap is therefore a result of a greater number of men in more senior positions. 

“The gender pay gap has reduced in the last two years and the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland will continue to work in partnership to create a modern inclusive service where flexible working practices and our values-based recruitment approach increase equality of access to senior positions.

“In view of new ways of working, the current Flexible work location (homeworking) Policy is being reviewed under the Once for Scotland Workforce Policy programme. This takes a person-centred approach to ensure that all employees and workers are treated in a non-discriminatory, fair and consistent way.”

Read more: Analysis: The politics of the pay rise; Criticism as social care pay rise half that of NHS; NHS Scotland staff offered 4% pay rise

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