Young dentists agree there is a gender gap in dentistry

gender gap
More than 40% of young dentists feel there is a gender gap in dentistry, new research shows

Young dentists believe there is a gender gap in dentistry, according to Minford Chartered Accountants.

Minford carried out a national survey, called Women in Dentistry, into women’s attitudes regarding their dental careers and found over 40% of under 35-year-olds agree there is a gender gap compared with 23% who disagree.

This is in contrast to older clinicians who feel the gender gap is less prevalent, however Minford believes there has been a shift in the proportion of men and women qualifying as dentists.

‘I think the survey that we have conducted shows that people are looking for an opportunity to make their voices heard in the profession in which they have invested so much time, money and energy,’ Johnny Minford, principal at Minford Chartered Accountants, said.

 

Dental workforce

A quarter of respondents said they were planning to leave dentistry in the 10 years for reasons other than retirement.

Despite this, 97% of respondents claimed their career was either very or quite important to them.

Elsewhere the survey found 65% of respondents work full time, 28% part time and 4% are on maternity leave, with the remainder stating a ‘non-specific’ reason for absence.

Most women surveyed are happy with their career growth, however the consequences and situation that they face when taking time out to look after their children was cited as the main reason women may be unhappy with their career growth.

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