Dentistry in 2023 is a vibrant and increasingly diverse profession – but true equality is still far off.
Inequity persists, from gender inequality and bias to stereotypes and discrimination. The gender pay gap is a very real issue.
Delivering a truly equitable, inclusive profession cannot happen without collective effort. This is why Dentistry is proud to support International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023.
Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist and activist once said: ‘The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.’
International Women’s Day is a global initiative designed to celebrate womens’ achievements, raise awareness about discrimination, and take action to drive gender parity.
Dentistry is committed to supporting gender equality, within the profession and beyond.
Motherhood and dentistry
This year, we’re focusing in particular on the theme – and role – of motherhood.
With more and more women joining the dental profession, and the profession opening up to more flexible ways of working, we want to put the careful balance of work and home life under the microscope.
It’s a balance that in so many ways is typified by the decision to have a family. This is a choice that spells irrevocable change no matter your job role. For women in particular, it’s a choice that often shakes the very bedrock of their sense of identity.
We wanted to understand more about how that impacts women working in dentistry, and their professional identities.
For many years, dentistry was a difficult world in which to reconcile motherhood and the demands of the profession.
While that climate is changing, as flexible working becomes more widely accepted and many traditional structures of dentistry are themselves evolving, traditional parenthood roles are still often the norm.
Your stories
We know too that motherhood does not define womanhood. So throughout March, we’ll be talking to women about their wider experiences within dentistry as well.
While IWD takes place officially on 8 March, we’ll be sharing more stories of great women in dentistry throughout the month on our social feeds and on dentistry.co.uk.
We will hear from women right across the profession. From the experiences of technicians in a same-sex relationship and dentists juggling work and family, to therapists who have chosen not to have children.
Their stories are just a glimpse of the many faces of women in dentistry: diverse, inspirational and making the dental profession what it is.
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