The Elephant in the Room
Combating Sexism—the Need for Real Inclusion in Dental Education Sophia G. Saeed, DMD - Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Professor, University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine
Sophia G. Saeed, DMD Statement of Responsibility: The aforementioned author is the sole author and contributor to this submission.
A
few years ago, I collaborated with colleagues to give a workshop on gender equity in academics at the American Dental Education Association Fall Meeting. We presented research outlining the challenges that women face in the workplace; the presentation was interspersed with small group discussions around defined, but uncomfortable, topics. The feedback from the faculty participants varied. A small handful of men felt it was hogwash. A large number of men thanked us for opening their eyes. They were entirely unaware of the challenges that their female students and colleagues put up with on a daily basis and throughout their careers, despite numerous publications on the topic.1-7 Some of the more seasoned women in the audience felt that things were much worse when they were upand-coming, so the younger women should be thankful, and just grin and bear it. But the younger women thanked us profusely for amplifying their experiences; they did not have a platform or the protection for speaking their minds. Many of them thought they were the only ones experiencing regular sexism, and they were suffering in silence.
Journal of the American College of Dentists
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