Mind the gender gap: A Scoping Review of Inequalities in Dental Science and Leadership Short title: Mind the gender gap.

Abstract

This study aimed to carry out a scoping review to map the scope and nature of the literature on gender equity and discrimination in dental research and leadership, using an intersectional approach. The protocol of this scoping review is available online in the Open Science Framework platform. The literature search was carried out in February 2024. The terms of the search strategy encompassed three concept groups: gender inequality, the outcomes assessed, and dental science. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE were consulted. Two independent reviewers assessed the retrieved records. The initial search returned 2,322 references; after screening, 362 duplicates were removed, and 1,923 records were excluded because titles and abstracts did not meet the eligibility criteria. Inter-examiner agreement between reviewers was high (kappa = 0.931). For the updated search, 424 references were retrieved, and 52 duplicates were removed. After screening the titles and abstracts of the remaining 372 references, 11 were selected for full-text screening, of which 10 were included in the qualitative synthesis. Combining the two searches, 35 references were included in this scoping review. The studies included in this review were conducted by authors from multiple countries: Brazil, the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Australia, and Austria, published between 1998 and 2024. The included studies showed persistent gender inequalities in dental research across different levels, particularly in leadership positions. There is a need to encourage further research on this topic under an intersectionality lens, on a broader scope of concepts, and to test interventions.