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New Jersey dentists’ opinions on women as associates
Most dentists said they would hire a woman as an associate and pay her the same as a man. Respondents had no strong preference on w om en’s marital status. Opinions on employment of recent women graduates and women with five yea rs ’ experience were not significantly different.
New Jersey dentists’ opinions on women as associates Irwin Quinn,
DDS, EdM , N ew ark, NJ
M ore w om en are b eco m in g d en tists. A lthou gh o n ly V/2% o f th e n ation ’s d en tists are w o m e n , the total first-year fem a le en rollm en t in U S d en tal sc h o o ls in 1974-1975 w a s up to 11% .‘ S o m e m ale dental stu d en ts h a v e n eg a tiv e fe e l in gs tow ard fem a le den tal stu d e n ts .2 But atti tu d es o f p racticin g d en tists tow ard w o m en as a sso c ia te s h a v e n ot b een su fficien tly exp lored . F o r this re a so n , and b e c a u se attem p ts on m y part to find a sso c ia te sh ip s for recen t fem a le grad u a tes h a v e not a lw a y s b een su c c e ssfu l, I w as p rom pted to tak e this su rv e y . S in ce there appears to b e a grow in g trend tow ard group p ra ctices and a sso c ia te sh ip s, I attem p ted to d eterm in e the attitu d es o f a se g m ent o f th e p ro fessio n tow ard w om en a s d en tal a sso c ia te s, ty p e (s) o f treatm en t recen t w om en grad u ates sh ould perform , and w h at salaries th ey sh ould earn com p ared w ith m en . R esu lts o f this su rv ey are in tend ed to se r v e as an initial stu d y for fem a le d en tal stu d en ts w h o are inter este d in an a sso c ia tesh ip upon graduation.
M eth o d A co v e r letter and q u estion n aire w ere sen t to 300 m ale gen eral p ractition ers in th e 21 co u n tie s o f
N e w J ersey . (S p ec ia lists w ere n o t in clu d ed .) T h e practitioners se le c te d grad u ated from d e n tal sc h o o l b etw e en 1955 and 1970. In form ation on ty p e o f p ra ctice, y ea r o f g rad u ation , and lo c a tion w a s taken from the 1974 A D A D irecto ry. O f 300 m ailed su r v e y s, 154 (51.3% ) w ere returned, and 7 had w rong a d d r esse s or w er e u n d eliv er ab le. Q u estio n s applied to recen t w o m en grad u ates (T a b le 1) and w o m en d en tists w ith fiv e y e a r s ’ p ro fessio n a l e x p er ie n c e (T a b le 2). T h e su rv ey a ttem p ted to d eterm in e if num ber o f years o f e x p erien ce o f w o m en in flu en ced d e n tis ts’ o p in io n s o f them . (T h e co lu m n s in the ta b les d o not equal 154 for ea ch total b eca u se so m e resp o n d en ts did n ot a n sw er all q u e stio n s.)
S u m m a ry of survey results S u rv ey resu lts sh ow ed : — M o st resp o n d en ts d o n ot co n sid er s e x o f an ap plican t an im portant fa cto r fo r em p lo y m e n t o f an a s so c ia te . — T h ey d o not b e lie v e that bein g sin g le o r m ar ried has any a d van tage or d isa d v a n ta g e. (T h is is e v id e n t from the a n sw e rs to the se co n d and JADA, Vol. 94, A pril 1977 ■ 717
Table 1 ■ Part 1: New Jersey dentists’ opinions on employment of recent women dental graduates. Questions Would you employ a female dentist who is a recent graduate? Would you prefer her to be single?f Would you prefer her to be married?t Would she receive the same salary or percentage as a male recent graduate? Would her duties be restricted to certain areas of dental service? If your answer to # 5 Is “Yes”— please list the area(s).
Would a male dentist recent graduate have his areas of dental service restricted? If your answer to # 7 is "Yes”— please list the area(s).
Yes
No
Undecided
Total
113
24*
12
149
29 24
70 64
34 38
133 126
131
1
2
134
29
105
5
139
Depends on interests and abilities. Pedodontics, operative dentistry, and periodontics were mentioned most often. 22
105
11
138
Same as question # 6 .
‘ Some dentists who said they would not hire a recent female dental graduate did not answer the remaining questions. fQuestions on preference of women's marital status were not answered by some.
Table 2 ■ Part 2: New Jersey dentists’ opinions on employment of women dentists with five years’ experience. Questions Would you employ a female dentist with 5 years’ experience? Would you prefer her to be single?t Would you prefer her to be married?t Would she receive the same salary as a male with 5 years’ experience? Would her duties be restricted to certain areas of dental service? If your answer to # 5 is “Yes"— please list the area(s). Would a male dentist with 5 years' experience have his areas of dental service restricted? If your answer to # 7 Is "Yes”— please list the area(s).
Yes 128 28 31
No 16* /8 73
Undecided
Total
7 31 32
151 137 136
132
7
2
141
14
115
7
136
Depends on interests and competence. 10
116
10
136
Same as question 6.
•Some dentists who said they would not hire afemale dentist with five years’ experience did not answer the remaining questions. tQuestions on preference of women's marital status were not answered by some.
third q u e stio n s in both p arts.) — T h ey w o u ld pay a fem a le th e sa m e as her m ale cou n terp art. — R estrictio n s in areas o f dental se r v ic e w ou ld b e ab ou t the sa m e for m ales and fem a les. — C o m p e te n c y , n ot s e x , is th e m ain factor in em p lo y m e n t o f an a sso c ia te. — P ro fessio n a l ex p erien ce o f w o m e n (fiv e y ears) d o e s n o t sign ifican tly ch a n g e attitu d es. A t th e en d o f th e q u estion n aire d en tists w ere a sk ed to co m m en t freely . F req u en t com m en ts included: — “ W om en m ight b eco m e p reg n a n t.” — “ T h e y lack the p h y sica l strength to d o oral su rg e ry .” — ‘ ‘I p refer w om en to b e m arried, so th e y d o n ’t m o v e .” — “ I p refer them to b e sin g le, so th ey d o n ’t b e c o m e p reg n a n t.” — “ A dm itting m ore w o m en to d en tal sc h o o l m ay d en y a m an w ith a fam ily p ro fessio n a l ed u c a tio n .” — “ C o m p eten cy is im portant— n o t s e x . ” 718 ■ JADA, Vol. 94, April 1977
Conclusion T h is su rv ey sam p led a sm all p opu lation in a sm all area. R esu lts sh o w e d th at, w ith m inor e x c e p tio n , s e x o f an individual had n o bearing o n em p lo y m e n t p o ssib ilitie s. P erhap s the u nre turned 139 q u estio n n a ires w o u ld h a v e b een n eg a tiv e , but this ca n n o t b e a ssu m ed . I h o p e this stu d y w ill stim u late sim ilar efforts in o th er geograph ical areas.
Dr. Quinn is associate professor of oral diagnosis and radiology and director of clinics at New Jersey Dental School. His address is 100 Bergen St, Newark, NJ 07103. 1. General news: number of women in dental schools increases significantly. J Dent Educ 39:309 May 1975. 2. Austin, G.B.; Maher, M.M.; and LoMonaco, C.J. Women in dentistry and medicine—attitudinal survey of educational ex perience. J Dent Educ 37:11 Nov 1973.
New Jersey dentists’ opinions on women as associates Irwin Quinn,
DDS, EdM , N ew ark, NJ
M ore w om en are b eco m in g d en tists. A lthou gh o n ly V/2% o f th e n ation ’s d en tists are w o m e n , the total first-year fem a le en rollm en t in U S d en tal sc h o o ls in 1974-1975 w a s up to 11% .‘ S o m e m ale dental stu d en ts h a v e n eg a tiv e fe e l in gs tow ard fem a le den tal stu d e n ts .2 But atti tu d es o f p racticin g d en tists tow ard w o m en as a sso c ia te s h a v e n ot b een su fficien tly exp lored . F o r this re a so n , and b e c a u se attem p ts on m y part to find a sso c ia te sh ip s for recen t fem a le grad u a tes h a v e not a lw a y s b een su c c e ssfu l, I w as p rom pted to tak e this su rv e y . S in ce there appears to b e a grow in g trend tow ard group p ra ctices and a sso c ia te sh ip s, I attem p ted to d eterm in e the attitu d es o f a se g m ent o f th e p ro fessio n tow ard w om en a s d en tal a sso c ia te s, ty p e (s) o f treatm en t recen t w om en grad u ates sh ould perform , and w h at salaries th ey sh ould earn com p ared w ith m en . R esu lts o f this su rv ey are in tend ed to se r v e as an initial stu d y for fem a le d en tal stu d en ts w h o are inter este d in an a sso c ia tesh ip upon graduation.
M eth o d A co v e r letter and q u estion n aire w ere sen t to 300 m ale gen eral p ractition ers in th e 21 co u n tie s o f
N e w J ersey . (S p ec ia lists w ere n o t in clu d ed .) T h e practitioners se le c te d grad u ated from d e n tal sc h o o l b etw e en 1955 and 1970. In form ation on ty p e o f p ra ctice, y ea r o f g rad u ation , and lo c a tion w a s taken from the 1974 A D A D irecto ry. O f 300 m ailed su r v e y s, 154 (51.3% ) w ere returned, and 7 had w rong a d d r esse s or w er e u n d eliv er ab le. Q u estio n s applied to recen t w o m en grad u ates (T a b le 1) and w o m en d en tists w ith fiv e y e a r s ’ p ro fessio n a l e x p er ie n c e (T a b le 2). T h e su rv ey a ttem p ted to d eterm in e if num ber o f years o f e x p erien ce o f w o m en in flu en ced d e n tis ts’ o p in io n s o f them . (T h e co lu m n s in the ta b les d o not equal 154 for ea ch total b eca u se so m e resp o n d en ts did n ot a n sw er all q u e stio n s.)
S u m m a ry of survey results S u rv ey resu lts sh ow ed : — M o st resp o n d en ts d o n ot co n sid er s e x o f an ap plican t an im portant fa cto r fo r em p lo y m e n t o f an a s so c ia te . — T h ey d o not b e lie v e that bein g sin g le o r m ar ried has any a d van tage or d isa d v a n ta g e. (T h is is e v id e n t from the a n sw e rs to the se co n d and JADA, Vol. 94, A pril 1977 ■ 717
Table 1 ■ Part 1: New Jersey dentists’ opinions on employment of recent women dental graduates. Questions Would you employ a female dentist who is a recent graduate? Would you prefer her to be single?f Would you prefer her to be married?t Would she receive the same salary or percentage as a male recent graduate? Would her duties be restricted to certain areas of dental service? If your answer to # 5 Is “Yes”— please list the area(s).
Would a male dentist recent graduate have his areas of dental service restricted? If your answer to # 7 is "Yes”— please list the area(s).
Yes
No
Undecided
Total
113
24*
12
149
29 24
70 64
34 38
133 126
131
1
2
134
29
105
5
139
Depends on interests and abilities. Pedodontics, operative dentistry, and periodontics were mentioned most often. 22
105
11
138
Same as question # 6 .
‘ Some dentists who said they would not hire a recent female dental graduate did not answer the remaining questions. fQuestions on preference of women's marital status were not answered by some.
Table 2 ■ Part 2: New Jersey dentists’ opinions on employment of women dentists with five years’ experience. Questions Would you employ a female dentist with 5 years’ experience? Would you prefer her to be single?t Would you prefer her to be married?t Would she receive the same salary as a male with 5 years’ experience? Would her duties be restricted to certain areas of dental service? If your answer to # 5 is “Yes"— please list the area(s). Would a male dentist with 5 years' experience have his areas of dental service restricted? If your answer to # 7 Is "Yes”— please list the area(s).
Yes 128 28 31
No 16* /8 73
Undecided
Total
7 31 32
151 137 136
132
7
2
141
14
115
7
136
Depends on interests and competence. 10
116
10
136
Same as question 6.
•Some dentists who said they would not hire afemale dentist with five years’ experience did not answer the remaining questions. tQuestions on preference of women's marital status were not answered by some.
third q u e stio n s in both p arts.) — T h ey w o u ld pay a fem a le th e sa m e as her m ale cou n terp art. — R estrictio n s in areas o f dental se r v ic e w ou ld b e ab ou t the sa m e for m ales and fem a les. — C o m p e te n c y , n ot s e x , is th e m ain factor in em p lo y m e n t o f an a sso c ia te. — P ro fessio n a l ex p erien ce o f w o m e n (fiv e y ears) d o e s n o t sign ifican tly ch a n g e attitu d es. A t th e en d o f th e q u estion n aire d en tists w ere a sk ed to co m m en t freely . F req u en t com m en ts included: — “ W om en m ight b eco m e p reg n a n t.” — “ T h e y lack the p h y sica l strength to d o oral su rg e ry .” — ‘ ‘I p refer w om en to b e m arried, so th e y d o n ’t m o v e .” — “ I p refer them to b e sin g le, so th ey d o n ’t b e c o m e p reg n a n t.” — “ A dm itting m ore w o m en to d en tal sc h o o l m ay d en y a m an w ith a fam ily p ro fessio n a l ed u c a tio n .” — “ C o m p eten cy is im portant— n o t s e x . ” 718 ■ JADA, Vol. 94, April 1977
Conclusion T h is su rv ey sam p led a sm all p opu lation in a sm all area. R esu lts sh o w e d th at, w ith m inor e x c e p tio n , s e x o f an individual had n o bearing o n em p lo y m e n t p o ssib ilitie s. P erhap s the u nre turned 139 q u estio n n a ires w o u ld h a v e b een n eg a tiv e , but this ca n n o t b e a ssu m ed . I h o p e this stu d y w ill stim u late sim ilar efforts in o th er geograph ical areas.
Dr. Quinn is associate professor of oral diagnosis and radiology and director of clinics at New Jersey Dental School. His address is 100 Bergen St, Newark, NJ 07103. 1. General news: number of women in dental schools increases significantly. J Dent Educ 39:309 May 1975. 2. Austin, G.B.; Maher, M.M.; and LoMonaco, C.J. Women in dentistry and medicine—attitudinal survey of educational ex perience. J Dent Educ 37:11 Nov 1973.