The remarks ignited controversy online.
A Texas doctor has apologized after declaring female physicians make less money than male ones because they "do not work as hard."
Dr. Gary Tigges, 53, sparked controversy after the comments were published in the September issue of the Dallas Medical Journal. He was responding to a question of whether a pay gap exists between men and women in the medical field and if so, what can be done about it.
"Yes there is a pay gap," Tigges is quoted as saying. "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.
"... Nothing needs to be 'done' about this unless female physicians actually want to work harder and put in the hours," the comments continued. "If not, they should be paid less. That is fair."
The remarks ignited furor on social media and even led angry commenters to descend on the Yelp page for his place of business.
Tigges, who said the comments were published without his consent, later issued a mea culpa on Sunday.
“I sincerely apologize to all female physicians for my comments and the pain they have caused,” he said in a statement, according to USA Today.
Tigges also told the Dallas Morning News Saturday the remarks were taken out of context.
"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."
Dr. Gabriela Zandomeni, a physician who chairs the committee that publishes the medical journal, said they chose to print the remarks because they are a common belief in the medical field, The Washington Post reported.
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