Unit of Oral Health, Dentistry and Society, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, UK.
Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
Community Dent Health. 2021 May 28;38(2):142-149. doi: 10.1922/CDH_IADRLala08.
This article analyses the underrepresentation of racialised minorities across the three stages of the dental workforce pipeline through the critical lens of power. The reformist view of power was used, which focuses on concealment caused by systemic biases. We observed adequate representation of racialised minorities in the first two stages of the pipeline; entry to dental schools and completion of dental education. However, the categorisation of diverse groups into a single 'BAME' category conceals the underrepresentation of Black people and those who experience intersectional forms of discrimination rooted in race, gender and class. We observed all racialised minorities to be underrepresented in the third stage of the pipeline; career development and progression. The data suggest that institutional processes are more likely to recruit and promote White1 people, and racialised minorities are more likely to be exposed to bullying and inequitable disciplinary processes. Consistently across dental institutions, as the level of seniority increases, the representation of racialised minorities decreases. Thus, senior decision-making and agenda-setting spaces in UK dentistry are overwhelmingly White. Multiple actions are suggested; including collation of comprehensive, inclusive data, widening participation and representation initiatives to help re-distribute the power dynamics towards racialised minorities and ensure equality of representation across the dental pipeline, including in senior spaces. We hope this will work towards putting some of the systemic problems that we see in dentistry; such as differential staff and student experiences, inequitable recruitment, promotions and disciplinary proceedings, and colonial dental curricula and research on the institutional agenda.
本文通过权力的批判视角分析了在牙科劳动力管道的三个阶段中，少数族裔代表性不足的问题。本文采用了改革主义权力观，重点关注系统性偏见所导致的隐蔽性。我们观察到少数族裔在管道的前两个阶段，即进入牙科学院和完成牙科学业，有足够的代表性。然而，将不同群体归入单一的“BAME”类别掩盖了黑人以及那些经历基于种族、性别和阶级的交叉歧视形式的代表性不足。我们观察到所有少数族裔在管道的第三个阶段，即职业发展和晋升，都代表性不足。数据表明，机构流程更有可能招募和提拔白人，而少数族裔更有可能遭受欺凌和不平等的纪律处分程序。在英国牙科机构中，一致的情况是，随着资历的增加，少数族裔的代表性下降。因此，英国牙科领域的高级决策和议程制定空间绝大多数是白人。我们建议采取多种行动，包括收集全面、包容的数据，扩大参与和代表性倡议，以帮助重新分配权力，使少数族裔受益，并确保牙科管道各个阶段，包括高级阶段，代表权的平等。我们希望这将有助于解决我们在牙科领域看到的一些系统性问题，例如员工和学生经历的差异、不公平的招聘、晋升和纪律程序，以及殖民牙科课程和研究。
