A review has been launched to eliminate the gender pay gap in medicine, which sees male doctors getting paid over £10,000 more than their female counterparts.

Male doctors receive an average £67,788 in basic pay, compared with £57,569 for female doctors – a difference of £10,219 or 15%.

The NHS has an overall gender pay gap of 23% despite the fact that it employs far more women than men.

This is because the number of highly paid male doctors is a much bigger proportion of the male NHS workforce than the equivalent percentage for women.

To tackle this inequality, Jeremy Hunt, the health and social care secretary, has launched an independent review to be led by top doctor and professor Jane Dacre.

Reasons why there are more men at the top of the career ladder in medicine include the fact that taking time out for maternity or carer responsibilities can affect the opportunities women get for career or pay progression, as consultant training takes time and pay progression rates are based on time served.

It may also be affecting reward payments for work done in addition to core roles.

Recent figures have shown that clinical excellence awards – given to consultants for improving safety and quality of care or learning practices – are given to four times as many men as women.

Hunt said: “The NHS holds a unique position in both British and global society as a shining beacon of equality among all, and so it is unacceptable that 70 years from its creation its own staff still face gender inequality.

“Even today, there remains a 15% gap between the pay of our male and female doctors – this has no place in a modern employer or the NHS and I’m determined to eliminate this gap.

“I’m delighted Jane Dacre – one of the most highly respected female medics in the NHS – has agreed to lead this important review and is perfectly placed to examine the barriers that stop our talented female doctors climbing to the top rung in the NHS career ladder.”

The review will consider the obstacles that stop female doctors progressing their NHS career in the same way as their male counterparts and look at issues such as the impact of motherhood on careers and progression, access to flexible working, shared parental leave, working patterns, and care arrangements and their affordability.

Dacre, the president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “I am delighted to have been asked to lead on this important review into the gender pay gap of 15% in the medical workforce.

Quick Guide What is the gender pay gap, and what must UK companies report? Show What is the gender pay gap? The gender pay gap is the difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women. The figure is expressed as a proportion of men’s earnings. According to the ONS, the gap between what UK male and female workers earn – based on median hourly earnings for all workers – was 17.9% in April 2018, down from 18.4% in April 2017. Data in 2018 showed that men were paid more than women in 7,795 out of 10,016 companies and public bodies in Britain. What is being published? All companies and some public sector bodies in Great Britain, except Northern Ireland, with more than 250 employees had to report their gender pay gap to the Government Equalities Office for the first time by by 4 April 2018. The second year of gender pay gap reports - and the first indicator of how public bodies and companies are performing - must be filed by April 2019 What’s the difference between the mean and the median figures? Commonly known as the average, the mean is calculated by adding up the wages of all employees and dividing that figure by the number of employees. The mean gender pay gap is the difference between mean male pay and mean female pay. The median gap is the difference between the employee in the middle of the range of male wages and the employee in the middle of the range of female wages. Typically the median is the more representative figure, because the mean can be skewed by a handful of highly paid employees. What will happen if companies don’t report? The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that, while it would approach employers informally at first if they failed to publish figures by the deadline, businesses could ultimately face “unlimited fines and convictions”. However, information published following a freedom of information request by the Guardian showed that no companies have been fined to date despite hundreds failing to accurately file their gender pay gap figures on time.

“Previous reports and initiatives have identified many of the root causes, so there is no shortage of evidence about this unacceptable situation.

“I am grateful for the government’s commitment to act on the recommendations of the review, not just for women doctors now, but for our future workforce.

“Over 50% of medical school entrants are women, and we owe it to them and their future commitment to the NHS to ensure they are treated fairly.”

The review, expected to conclude at the end of 2018, will focus on the medical profession, but is expected to have wider implications for the rest of the NHS and key recommendations could be rolled out across all staff groups.