Gender differences in dentists’ working practices and job satisfaction
Introduction
In most industrialised countries,1, 2, 3, 4 there has been a steady increase in the proportion of women in the dentist workforce over the last 25 years. This is likely to have impacted on the profession's productivity, as female dentists tend to work fewer hours per week than male dentists.2, 3, 4 Furthermore, a larger proportion of females than males take career breaks, with women taking longer breaks (up to several years). Such breaks tend to be followed by lower working hours upon returning to practice,5, 6, 7 and some women experience difficulties upon their return.7 Female dentists have also been found to retire earlier than male dentists, on average.8 However, much has changed in recent years with regard to women in the general workforce. Childcare is more readily available and increasing numbers of mothers are returning to work while their children are young. Concomitantly, men are playing an increasingly large role in family life, and many are involved in childcare on a day-to-day basis. The extent to which such social changes are impacting on the dental profession is not known.
As the proportion of women in the profession continues to increase, there is a need to monitor the differences in working patterns between male and female dentists, and to be aware of their dental workforce implications. Although child rearing is an important factor, there are other areas to consider, such as breadwinner status and job satisfaction. While there has been an interest in gender issues in the dental workforce, there have been limitations to previous studies, in that some considered women only, without comparison to their male colleagues,6, 7, 9, 10 and others had low response rates (which somewhat compromise their usefulness).5, 11
The aim of this study was to describe and compare the working practices and job satisfaction of a representative sample of male and female dentists.
Section snippets
Methods
A nationwide postal survey of all New Zealand dentists holding an annual practising certificate was undertaken in 2005. Ethical approval was granted by the University of Otago Ethics Committee prior to commencing the study. Contact details of all dentists with an Annual Practising Certificate (APC) were obtained from the New Zealand Dental Register (with permission from the Dental Council of New Zealand). All women and one-third of male dentists (randomly selected) were invited to participate,
Results
Of the 659 questionnaires sent to male dentists, 16 were returned without reaching the addressee because of data-base address errors, and 15 were returned because the practitioner had died or retired. Completed questionnaires were received from 468 men, giving an effective response rate of 74.5%. Of the 482 questionnaires sent to female dentists, 22 were returned because of address errors. Completed questionnaires were received from 382 women (response rate 83.0%). An overall response rate of
Discussion
This cross-sectional study investigated the working practices and job satisfaction of a random sample of 468 male and 382 female dentists. A greater proportion of female dentists had taken a career break of 6 weeks or more, with the main reason being to care for children. Larger proportions of women worked as associates in practice (rather than owning their own practice), and worked part-time. Men were more active in continuing professional education and had higher mean career satisfaction
Conclusion
Although dentistry can provide a satisfying career for both genders, the current study suggests that, for at least some women, there are substantial challenges limiting career potential and career satisfaction. In particular, the working lives of female dentists are more likely to be affected by the demands of child rearing, resulting in career breaks and (often) reduced hours of employment upon return to work. To compound this effect on the ‘manpower’ hours, female dentists plan to retire (on
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the 850 dentists who took the time to accurately and honestly complete the questionnaires. The assistance of So Hyun Park and So Young Park in the collection of data relating to female dentists is gratefully acknowledged, as is the financial support of both the New Zealand Dental Association Research Foundation and the Medical Assurance Society.
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