Gender Inequalities in the Dental Workforce: Global Perspectives

The aim of this review is to investigate the growth of diversity and inclusion in global academic dental research with a focus on gender equality. A diverse range of research methodologies were used to conduct this review, including an extensive review of the literature, engagement of key informants in dental academic leadership positions around the world, and review of current data from a variety of national and international organizations. Results provide evidence of gender inequalities that currently persist in dental academics and research. Although the gender gap among graduating dental students in North America and the two most populous countries in Europe (the United Kingdom and France) has been narrowed, women make up 30% to 40% of registered dentists in countries throughout Europe, Oceania, Asia, and Africa. In academic dentistry around the globe, greater gender inequality was found to correlate with higher ranking academic and leadership positions in the United States, United Kingdom, several countries in European Union, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Further disparities are noted in the dental research sector, where women make up 33% of dental researchers in the European Union, 35% in North America, 55% in Brazil, and 25% in Japan. Family and societal pressures, limited access to research funding, and lack of mentoring and leadership training opportunities are reported as also contributing to gender inequalities. To continue advancing gender equality in dental academia and research, efforts should be geared toward the collection and public dissemination of data on gender-specific distributions. Such evidence-driven information will guide the selection of future strategies and best practices for promoting gender equity in the dental workforce, which provides a major pipeline of researchers and scholars for the dental profession.

Women Recipients of IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards

The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Distinguished Scientist Awards are prestigious recognitions of outstanding scientific accomplishments in various areas of dental, oral, and craniofacial research, which correspond to several of the IADR Scientific Groups and Networks. These 17 awards were established over a period of 60 y. The objective of this report is to highlight women recipients of IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards. Additionally, we report the distribution of awards to women scientists over time and compare the number of women nominees, awardees, and gender distribution of the membership. Information about the awards was obtained from the IADR member database and press releases. Information collected included name of the award, year received, and the awardee’s name, institution, and position held at the time of the award. For the last 14 y, the time span for which reliable information was available, the gender distribution of the membership of the IADR was also retrieved. Overall, only 13% of the awardees have been women; even in the last 20 y, <20% have been women. In the last 14 y, the number of women awardees paralleled the number of nominees for each award. However, the proportion of women nominees was significantly lower than the female membership each year ( P < 0.001). With the exception of 1 y, the percentage of women awardees trailed the women membership of the IADR. In the past 4 y, women represented 12% to 18% of the awardees, whereas they composed 41% to 46% of the IADR’s membership. Given the benefits of prestigious recognitions on recruitment and retention of faculty and on attracting new research trainees into a discipline, it is important that policies be implemented to increase the proportion of women nominees for awards to appropriately recognize the efforts of remarkable women scientists.

Have Women Broken the Glass Ceiling in North American Dental Leadership?

In the last few decades, the number of women graduating from North American (NA) dental schools has increased significantly. Thus, we aimed to determine women’s representation in leadership positions in NA dental and specialty associations/organizations, dental education, and dental journals, as well as the proportion of men/women researcher members of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR). We contacted NA dental associations to provide us with the total number and the men/women distribution of their members. Men/women distributions in leadership positions were accessible from the internet, as were data on the sex of deans of NA dental schools. Data on the editors in chief of NA dental journals were gathered from their websites, and the AADR provided the number and sex of its researcher members. Collected data underwent descriptive statistics and binomial tests (α = 0.05). Our findings suggest that women are underrepresented in leadership positions within the major NA dental professional associations. While the median ratio of women leaders to women members in professional associations is 0.91 in Canada, it is only 0.67 in the United States. The same underrepresentation of women is evident in the leadership of the Canadian Dental Association and the American Dental Association. We found that women are underrepresented as deans and editors in chief for NA oral health journals. Only 16 of 77 NA dental school deans are women, while 3 of 38 dental journals have women editors in chief. The probability of finding these ratios by chance is low. However, the number of women dental researcher AADR members underwent an overall increase in the past decade, while the number of men declined. These results suggest that, despite the increase in women dentists, it will take time and effort to ensure that they move through the pipeline to senior leadership positions in the same manner as their male colleagues.

Then and Now—A Look Inside the Lives of 11 Women Presidents of the IADR

Extraordinary women scientists—past, current, and elected presidents of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR)—showcase pathways for success and leadership. In this series of autobiographical essays, these women of various cultural backgrounds with diverse areas of research describe their journeys in the passionate pursuit of excellence, despite the frequent obstacles and challenges. Through interviews and in their own words, we recap highlights of their dental research journeys and inspirations, their career trajectories toward the IADR presidency, and the benefits and challenges that they faced in their careers and personal lives. The purpose of this special issue is to honor these women, their life journeys, and how they have contributed to oral health research.

Empowering Women Researchers in the New Century: IADR’s Strategic Direction

Gender inequality in science, medicine, and dentistry remains a central concern for the biomedical research workforce today. Although progress in areas of inclusivity and gender diversity was reported, growth has been slow. Women still face multiple challenges in reaching higher ranks and leadership positions while maintaining holistic success in these fields. Within dental research and academia, we might observe trends toward a more balanced pipeline. However, women continue to face barriers in seeking leadership roles and achieving economic equity and scholarship recognition. In an effort to evaluate the status of women in dental research and academia, the authors examined the role of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), a global research organization, which has improved awareness on gender inequality. The goal of this article is to review five crucial issues of gender inequality in oral health research and academics—workforce pipeline, economic inequality, workplace harassment, gender bias in scholarly productivity, and work-life balance—and to discuss proactive steps that the IADR has taken to promote gender equality. Providing networking and training opportunities through effective mentoring and coaching for women researchers, the IADR has developed a robust pipeline of women leaders while promoting gender equality for women in dental academia through a culture shift. As knowledge gaps remained on the levels of conscious and unconscious bias and sexist culture affecting women advancement in academics, as well as the intersectionality of gender with race, gender identity, ability status, sexual orientation, and cultural backgrounds, the IADR has recognized that further research is warranted.

Commentary: Challenges and Opportunities for Women in Dental Research

This commentary integrates and expands on the preceding articles in this issue that document and celebrate a century of women’s achievements in the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). The increasing participation and leadership of women in dental and craniofacial research and within the IADR were viewed from the perspective of a changing culture of science. The steps that have been taken by the IADR to develop greater inclusiveness are acknowledged, and some of the challenges that remain are discussed in terms of obstacles that are most often social or cultural in origin. Comparisons are made across countries, and the social determinants that lead to differences in women’s participation are described. Recommendations are made for developing strategies to change elements of our institutional cultures that have provided advantages to some groups of researchers more than to others. The unconscious biases and a lack of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion that limit the participation of members of some groups limit the progress and achievements of science in general.

Oral Cancer: Integration of Studies for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Precision

Head and neck cancers are among the 10 most common cancers in the world and include cancers of the oral cavity, hypopharynx, larynx, nasopharynx, and oropharynx. At least 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). This summary discusses the integration of clinical and mechanistic studies in achieving diagnostic and therapeutic precision in the context of oral cancer. Specifically, based on recent mechanistic studies, a subsequent study reevaluated current diagnostic criteria of perineural invasion in patients with oral cavity SCC showing that overall survival could be associated with nerve-tumor distance; validation of the findings of this study from a small group of patients could lead to a personalized approach to treatment selection in patients with oral cavity SCC. Moreover, delineation of key pathways in SCC revealed novel treatment targets that can be exploited to develop personalized treatment strategies to achieve long-term remission.

Precision Health: Bringing Oral Health into the Context of Overall Health

Unprecedented advances in genomics, data science, and biotechnology have ushered in a new era of health care in which interventions are increasingly tailored to individual patients. Precision-based approaches extend to oral health, which is essential to overall health. Harnessing the full potential of precision oral health will depend on research to more fully understand the factors that underlie health and contribute to disease—including the human genome, microbiome, epigenome, proteome, and others.