State dental associations see most women serving as presidents

Women leaders: From left, Drs. Margaret Gingrich, Michigan;
Kristi Soileau, Louisiana; Evis Babo, Georgia; Janis Moriarty,
Massachusetts; Barbara B. Mauldin, Mississippi; Terryl Proper,
Tennessee; Maria Castellvi Armas, Puerto Rico; Elba Diaz Diaz-Toro,
Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Puerto Rico president; Jolene
Paramore, Florida; Jill Shelton, Idaho; and Jennifer Thompson, New
Mexico pose for a photo during the 2018 ADA President-Elect’s
Conference. Ten of the women are among the 13 women elected
presidents in their respective state dental association to serve
beginning this year — the most in the ADA’s 160-year
history.

In half of the 10 years Dr. Jennifer Enos served in the board of
her local dental society in Arizona, she was — aside from staff
— the only woman in the room.

“I started in dentistry in 1999 as an assistant,” she said.
“I knew one female dentist and there was very little ethnic
diversity.”

Fast forward to 2019.

When she volunteered at her local dental school’s Give Kids A
Smile event in February, the diversity in the students was evident.
And when attending her local dental society’s meetings, there are
nearly as many female members as their male counterparts.

Come later this year, Dr. Enos will be one of 13 women serving
as presidents in their state dental association — the most in the
ADA’s 160-year history.

“The increase in diversity in our profession is fantastic,”
said Dr. Enos, Arizona Dental Association president-elect. “It
allows many opportunities for growth and innovation with the
varying backgrounds and perspectives.”

Dr. Kristi M. Soileau, Louisiana Dental Association
president-elect, added that variances in opinions and life stories
only strengthens the core of any organization.
Drs. Enos and Soileau were among the women presidents-elects last
year, along with Drs. Maria de L. Castellvi Armas, Colegio de
Cirujanos Dentistas de Puerto Rico; Cathy L. Harris, Delaware State
Dental Society; Evis Babo, Georgia Dental Association; Marlene
Shevenell, Maryland State Dental Association; Janis B. Moriarty,
Massachusetts Dental Society; Margaret Gingrich, Michigan Dental
Association; Barbara B. Mauldin, Mississippi Dental Association;
Lindsey D. Jackson, New Hampshire Dental Society; Sharon K.
Parsons, Ohio Dental Association; Terryl A. Propper, Tennessee
Dental Association; and Elizabeth C. Reynolds, Virginia Dental
Association.

However, more needs to be done to ensure more women are pursuing
leadership roles in the local, state and national levels of
organized dentistry, Dr. Soileau said.

“With many dental graduating classes being half female, we
encourage them to step up to the plate through service to the
profession and to the public,” she said.

More women in dental school
Based on ADA data, there were a total of 81 women elected president
at the state level from 1998 to 2014 — an average of 4.6 a year.
Until this year, 2012 saw the most women serving as
presidents-elect with 12. Three years prior, in 2009, there was
only one.

“I am thrilled to hear that there will be 13 female presidents
this year,” said Dr. Janis Moriarty, Massachusetts Dental Society
president-elect. “And I expect that number to continue to rise
[in the coming years].”

According to the ADA Health Policy Institute, 49 percent of U.S.
dental school graduates in 2017 were women. That’s up from 37
percent in 1997. Forty years ago, only 7 percent of graduates were
women.

The increasing number of women pursuing dentistry is shifting
the demographic makeup of the dental workforce.
In 2018, 32 percent of all dentists were women, up from 16 percent
in 2001.

By 2037, female dentists are expected to make up 46 percent of
the dental workforce, according to HPI data. At Tufts University
School of Dental Medicine, the graduating classes of 2019 and 2020
are anticipated to be 58 percent female.

“However, our leadership doesn’t match those percentages,”
Dr. Moriarty said. “People want to see people that look like
themselves in leadership role.”
More women leaders can also continue to shine a spotlight on issues
unique to women, including motherhood and the gender wage gap.

According to HPI data on median net income of general
practitioner dentists in private practice, female dentists earned
$140,000 in 2017, compare to $180,000 for their male counterparts.
That gap has closed somewhat. According to an April 2017 article in
The Journal of the American Dental Association, male dentists
earned nearly twice as much as female dentists in 1990. Male
dentists had an average income of $143,874; female dentists earned
$65,744.

Just ask
In her first year out of periodontal residency, Dr. Soileau was
approached by two local dental leaders to become editor of the New
Orleans Dental Association, so the current editor could move up to
the presidency.

“I was immediately stricken with a passion for organized
dentistry,” she said. “[However], had I not been approached by
someone needing my help, I don’t know that I would have come
forward on my own.”

For Dr. Enos, a dentist told her she should run as a class
representative for the American Student Dental Association.

“From the first meeting, I saw the actual value of organized
dentistry, in ASDA and the ADA,” she said. “I was hooked and
have been involved since.”
Drs. Soileau’s and Enos’ experiences underscore a simple
solution in diversifying leadership in organized dentistry: just
ask.
“It is truly as simple as that,” she said. “I always try to
remember that we have to ask.”

Dr. Soileau said women leaders need to do their part in
recruiting newer female graduates into organized dentistry through
various professional and social events, considering that the number
of women becoming ADA members are not as high as that of their male
counterpart upon graduation.
There is no question that female practitioners can be great
leaders, Dr. Moriarty, a graduate of the 2017-18 ADA Institute for
Diversity in Leadership.
“By definition, we are expert multi-taskers, just ask anyone who
has kids,” she said.

Dr. Moriarty said Massachusetts had created a Guest Board Member
program over 15 years ago, giving members board experience (with
all the privileges except for voting). She was part of the
inaugural class. By 2006, she was elected as one of 13 trustees of
the Massachusetts Dental Society.

“We must continue to cultivate, encourage and support women in
leadership roles as the number of women dentists continues to
increase,” Dr. Moriarty said.

Be ‘selfish’
Diversity in leadership only has benefits to the greater membership
of an organization, Dr. Soileau said.

“As more women graduate and enter the field, their particular
needs, such as balancing a career and family, are often understood
by other women who have been in similar positions of duress,” she
said.

Dr. Enos said there’s a multitude of reasons why women should
pursue leadership roles in organized dentistry, including giving
back to the profession through advocacy and improving public
health.

“Truthfully though, I think they should do it to be
selfish,” Dr. Enos said. “Seriously, the people you meet —
the other amazingly talented, smart and strong women and men who
really care — that you get the privilege to develop friendships
with are truly the best people to be found anywhere.”

In addition, the opportunity to gain perspective and experience,
along with meeting with legislators, participating in volunteer
events and attending member events, are invaluable, Dr. Enos
said.

“And ultimately, there’s the opportunity to continue to
learn and grow,” she said. “I hope more women continue to take
the opportunities.”

Editor’s note: This is the first article in an
ADA News series examining the changing demographics and
increasing diversity in dentistry.

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