[Woman and career: an unhappy marriage? A study model: dentistry]

Women's participation in the professions is steadily increasing. This study is a quantitative assessment of male and female career patterns in dentistry and of the role of marriage in any gender gap. A 1997 survey explored the professional activity of Flemish dentists. There is no educational disparity between dentists, female dentists enter the profession on an equal footing with their male colleagues. Therefore any other career influencing factors reveal themselves relatively clearly. Dependent variable was income; independent variables were gender and marriage. Female dentists scored lower than male dentists in each career phase; marriage made no significant difference. However, marriage turned out to be an important positive factor in the career of male dentists. Women dentists marry significantly later and less than their male colleagues. Further research, also of a qualitative nature, is necessary to evaluate the professional and social impact of this substantial gender difference.