Home Dental Radiology Exploring the impact of household, personal, and employment characteristics on dentistry’s income gap between men and women

Exploring the impact of household, personal, and employment characteristics on dentistry’s income gap between men and women

by adminjay


Background

This study provides an update on the income gap between men and women in dentistry,
evaluating the impact of dentists’ household, personal, and employment characteristics
on income differences.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used data from the US Census Bureau’s 5-year American Community
Survey (2014-2018). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression
analysis (ordinary least squares regressions, Oaxaca-Blinder regression decomposition
on logged personal income).

Results

Female dentists were less likely to be White and born in the United States and more
likely to be bilingual than male dentists. Adjusted estimates indicated that male
dentists earned 22% more than female dentists (risk ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.29).
Black dentists earned 24% less (risk ratio, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.85) and other
race non-Hispanic dentists earned 17% less (risk ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.97)
than non-Hispanic White dentists, after adjustment for covariates. Dentists with a
nondentist partner or spouse earned more than those without a partner or spouse, and
dentists with 3 or more children earned 19% more than those who were childless (P < .001; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.31). The income gap between sexes was $51,784 (in 2018
dollars); 27.2% of this gap was explained by observable personal (that is, race and
ethnicity, bilingualism), employment (for example, hours worked and employee or ownership
status), and household (for example, partner or spouse occupation and education) characteristics.

Conclusions

The dental workforce is diversifying, but sex and racial disparities in income persist.
The income gap between sexes, although reduced over time, is now less explainable
than in the past.

Practical Implications

The diversification of the dental workforce is a promising sign for an increasingly
diverse population’s present and future oral health, but it is important that existing
income gaps between men and women are addressed.



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