Texas physician tells medical journal women ‘do not work as hard’

A physician in Plano, Texas, is under fire for writing that his female colleagues are paid less because they “do not work as hard,” comments that he has since attempted to walk back.

Gary Tigges practices internal medicine at Plano Internal Medicine Associates and was featured in the September edition of the Dallas Medical Journal, the Dallas Morning News reported Saturday.

Tigges was one of several doctors featured in a two-page spread addressing the pay gaps between male and female doctors.

{mosads}”Yes, there is a pay gap,” Tigges wrote. “Female physicians do not work as hard and do not see as many patients as male physicians.”

“This is because they choose to, or they simply don’t want to be rushed, or they don’t want to work the long hours. Most of the time, their priority is something else. … Family, social, whatever,” he continued.

“Nothing needs to be ‘done’ about this unless female physicians actually want to work harder and put in the hours. If not, they should be paid less. That is fair,” his comments continued.

The salaries of the female doctors’ salaries included in the report was equivalent to about two-thirds of the male doctors, the Journal noted.

Tigges’ comments were included in the September “Women in Medicine Issue” of the journal, the Morning News reported.

Tigges later told the Dallas Morning News that his comments were taken out of context. He said he responded to an email from the Dallas County Medical Society and did not know they would be included in a publication.

“My response sounds terrible and horrible and doesn’t reflect what I was really trying to say,” Tigges said. “I’m not saying female physicians should be paid less, but they earn less because of other factors.”

Data he had read showed that female doctors often have a lower salary because they work fewer hours or see fewer patients, he told the newspaper.

“Women might take longer with their patients, and that’s a great thing, but then their pay is less,” he said. “That’s something we have to deal with every day; you have to work out that balance. Every physician wrangles with that. But it was not my intention to say female physicians are lazy or don’t work as hard.”

Nonetheless, his comments triggered public outrage

@DallasCMS In the Women in Medicine issue Dr Tigges is quoted voicing his misogynistic view of his women colleagues. The title of the page is “Big and Bright Ideas”, but his is definitely not bright. This is how men convince themselves that discrimination against women is okay. pic.twitter.com/0pUTHIabzW

— Mary Quiceno (@MQUICE) August 31, 2018

Hala Sabry-Elnaggar shared Tigges’ comments on social media, calling them “disgusting.”

“There is a pay gap because there is gender inequity and inequality which is wrong and cannot be justified in any way,” Sabry-Elnaggar wrote. “Women physicians have been proven to put their skills into their work with better mortality outcomes and they continue to do this despite the discrimination more than 80 percent of them face at work.”

“So please educate yourself beyond your medical degree about what your colleagues are doing … and how their presence is important to the health care team and to their patients,” the post continued.

“Hear that ladies?” one response read. “We’re just lazy, therefore we shouldn’t be paid as much. Make him famous. Opinions like his should be shared, so that women like me, know who NOT to go to.”

Michael Darrouzet, CEO of the Dallas County Medical Society, said Tigges answered a questionnaire that disclosed certain responses would be published.

“When I read this response, I was outraged, as many female physicians are today,” Darrouzet told the Morning News. “However, I believe that to incite change, we must expose the issues that need changing.”