Working patterns of male and female dentists in South Africa

Studies in England, USA and Australia, have shown that the working hours of female dentists do not differ significantly from the working hours of their male counterparts, until they have children. The purpose of this study was to establish whether the same phenomenon exists in South Africa and to compare working patterns of South African male and female dentists regarding nature of practice/employment, location of practice, work satisfaction and breadwinner status. Questionnaires were sent to 285 female dentists, selected by their first name in the SAMDC register. An equal number of questionnaires were sent to male dentists, selected according to the proportional random sampling technique. The total response achieved was 35.8 per cent. The female dentists' working hours showed a distinct drop as soon as they started a family (from 86 per cent, practising more than 35 hours per week, to 34 per cent) while the male dentists' hours remained unchanged (90 per cent). The fact that so many more male dentists (81 per cent) than female dentists (19.6 per cent) are primary breadwinners, explains why such a high percentage of female dentists can afford to work part-time. The majority of both male (89.7 per cent) and female (70 per cent) dentists are in private practice. However, a considerably larger percentage of females work for a salary in State clinics and at Universities. This study shows that gender, breadwinner status and the presence and age of children have a marked influence on the working patterns of South African dentists.