Gender Differences in Barriers in Career Development Among a Cohort of Dental Researchers. A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: This cross-sectional study investigated gender differences in barriers to career development among dental researchers and between academic and non-academic women.

Methods: An anonymous 34-item survey assessing barriers to career development and workplace obstacles (14 items), along with demographic/occupation characteristics (22 items), was distributed among dental researchers at the Women In Science Network meetings at 2024 AADOCR/IADR General Session (QR code) and through AADOCR/IADR discussion board (online platform). Differences in barriers and workplace obstacles were analyzed between women and men with chi-square tests; comparisons were repeated among women working within versus outside academia.

Results: A total of 233 participants completed the survey (68.7% women, 45.3% White, two-thirds working in the United States, 62% in academia). Compared to men, women more frequently reported feeling less supported by leadership (p = 0.039), taking career breaks (p = 0.004), and experiencing bullying/harassment (41.3% vs. 22.6%; p = 0.003), microaggression (55.6% vs. 33.9%; p = 0.001), and gender bias (46.9% vs. 14.5%; p < 0.001) in their workplace, particularly between ages 36 and 65. While work-life balance issues (62.8%) and stress (59.6%) were reported by both, women reported a lack of financial (p = 0.004), administrative (p = 0.045), and mentoring (p = 0.014) support more often than men. Limited to women, those in academia reported more episodes of bullying/harassment (47.9% vs. 23.3%; p = 0.016), microaggression (67.5% vs. 23.3%; p < 0.001), and gender bias (56.4% vs. 20.9%; p < 0.001) than those outside academia, especially between ages 51 and 65. Compared to non-academic women, those in academia faced more unsatisfactory leadership decisions (p = 0.003), financial (p = 0.006), administrative (p = 0.046), and mentoring (p = 0.007) support.

Conclusions: Women in dental research encounter significantly more barriers to development and workplace obstacles than men and non-academic women.