I am sure you have all seen the speech by Harrison Butker...yeah...that one. The one where he spoke about women being homemakers at an event celebrating women (and men) for pursuing education. The one where he said...
And I Quote...
"I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you...
...How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career?...
...Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
Yikes
The timing, the speech, none of it sat right. ESPECIALLY when you put into perspective the timeline of women's rights. I mean we are not that far removed. Look at this timeline.
Women's Rights - A Reminder
According to the National Archives, after decades of protests and anguish, the 19th amendment was passed on June 4th, 1919 and ratified August 18th, 1920. And it is also important to note that, "The campaign for woman suffrage was long, difficult...;yet ratification did not ensure full enfranchisement. Decades of struggle to include African Americans and other minority women in the promise of voting rights remained. Many women remained unable to vote long into the 20th century because of discriminatory state voting laws."
So, we have come so far, yet still have people in this world that hang onto these antiquated views of society. Great. So we wanted to take a moment and discuss some of the monumental women in dentistry. Cheers.
Who Was The First Female Dentist?
The first woman to earn a dental degree in the United States was a woman by the name of Lucy Hobbs Taylor. Dr. Taylor earned her degree in 1866. She was a pioneer for women in healthcare. She chose education and should be celebrated for that...just like the women graduating from Benedictine College.
The first woman to become a dentist in the US Navy was not until 1944 and her name was Sara Gdulin Krou. Yep. You read that right. Less that 100 years between us and the first female dentist in the US Navy.
Who Was Oregon's First Female Oral Surgeon?
The first woman to earn a degree in oral maxillofacial surgery in Oregon is a woman by the name of Stacy Geisler. She completed dental school and began her journey through residency in the '90s ultimately earning her specialty degree in 2002. She is still practicing in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
I am so proud of her accomplishments. But, I would be a liar if I didn't share how much it hurts to know that less than 30 years separates us from the first female OMFS in the beautiful state of Oregon.
That is the reason this speech struck a cord with many men and women alike. We are not far removed from the protesting, lobbying, and the abuse women endured on their journey to equal rights.
Some (Sorta) Sad Stats
- In 2000 less than 1% of oral surgeons were female.
- Today, around 7% of oral surgeons are female.
- In 2001 16.1% of dentists were female.
- Today, 37.7% of dentists are female.
- According to the ADA, around 2040 50% of dentists will be female.
The "sorta" was added because the stat at the end is "sort of" a light at the end of the tunnel type of thing. A 50/50 spit would be an incredible feat considering ratification was not complete until 1920 for women to vote.
Why Are We Talking About This
Although we lack direct perspective and can't speak with great credibility to women's rights and their implications on gender roles. We do know that silence is not always the answer.
Our society is not that far removed from historical inequalities placed on people. In fact, there are still many inequalities seen today in modern society. There are long term impacts of the way we treated people back in the day.
Speeches like Harrison Butker's are trash. Whether intentional or not, they demean women and belittle their accomplishments. So instead it is important to uplift people and educate - hence this long winded post on women in dentistry.
As always, thanks for reading. Be sure to check out our 5th podcast - we interview one of our favorite dentists, Dr. Liu. She graduated dental school from OHSU in 2021 and completed a hospital residency in 2022. She is our first podcast guest and talks a bit about her dental journey as a woman in a male dominated field.
