Gender Equity in Endodontic Scholarship and Academia

Introduction

Our hypothesis explored representation in women's leadership positions in endodontic academia to assess publication participation of men and women from 2010 to 2023 and to test academic rank disparities by comparing men and women faculty rank, gender, and citation impact.

Methods

Authors' names were downloaded from a PubMed search of publications in the Journal of Endodontics, International Endodontic Journal, and Dental Traumatology between 2010 and 2023. Editorial board members and reviewers were obtained from journal pages. Gender API software was used to determine gender based on first names. Fifty-four United States endodontic postgraduate departments were identified on the American Association of Endodontists website in 2022, and faculty information and rank were verified on departmental websites. Respective H-index scores were calculated using Harzing's Publish or Perish software.

Results

Of the 36,587 authors, 35% were women, and the percentage of women authors increased by 0.5% per year (95% CI = 0.3–0.6). Compared to women, men published more than women, outnumbered women as reviewers, and held more positions on editorial boards. The educational leadership of the United States endodontics programs is 29% women. Women comprise 23% of chairs, 21% of postgraduate directors, and 47% of predoctoral director positions (P = .013). However, among academic leaders in the United States, faculty rank is not associated with gender (P = .396) after scholarly impact and leadership roles are adjusted for.

Conclusions

Ultimately, the leadership role predicts rank, not gender. This suggests that women need to take action to apply for more leadership positions.