Exploring dental academics' perceptions of and experience with discrimination in the UK and Ireland: a qualitative study

Introduction Diversity is known to be important but diversity of dental school academics in the UK and Ireland is low in comparison with the dental profession and the overall population. The aims were to explore whether UK and Ireland dental school academics are satisfied with their career progression, whether they believe that there are barriers to career progression in dental schools based on protected characteristics, and experience of discrimination at work.Methods An online survey, including four free-text questions related to the study aims, was circulated by the Dental Schools Council to dental academics at all UK and Ireland dental schools. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse free-text comments.Results and discussion There were 192 responses from 20 dental schools. Five data categories were constructed which highlight the impact of discrimination in dental academia, the importance of opportunities and support, different perspectives of diversity and discrimination, and academic and institutional culture.Conclusion Staff perceived and experienced barriers to career progression. Many were satisfied with their career progression, but a proportion of staff expressed dissatisfaction and attributed this to discrimination based upon protected characteristics. The culture in dental schools is beginning to change to address factors contributing to inequality in dental academia.