In this episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker is joined by Dr. Aman Kaur, founder and president of Women in DSO.
Join them as they discuss:
- The challenges faced by women in the industry
- Initiatives offered by Women in DSO
- Elevating women’s profiles in dentistry
- The value of mentorship
- The impact of having more women in leadership positions
- And more!
Dr. Kaur is the founder and president of Women in DSO, an organization that serves as a platform to advance and promote women leaders across the DSO space. She was CEO of AiM Dental Alliance, before it was sold, and worked as Chief Operating Officer at Lone Peak Dental Group between 2018 and 2020. A dental industry veteran, Dr Kaur currently holds multiple board roles, while working as the operating partner with PE groups and consultant for their DSO portfolio companies.
Episode Highlights
Initiatives to Advance Equality: Dr. Kaur says that her organization, Women in DSO, aims to promote women to leadership roles and beyond by elevating their profile. One of the ways they are doing this is by running mentorship programs. She also cites education committee exchange circles and “empower networking”, a monthly virtual event designed to deliver impactful content to support development. Dr. Kaur says that their upcoming programs involve clinical leadership and male allyship.
Optimizing Organizations for Advancing Women’s Careers: Dr. Kaur says that, while most DSOs and non-DSOs have good intentions, they can neglect to recognize and understand the challenges faced by women in the workplace. For instance, although hiring purely on merit seems like a good idea, Dr. Kaur believes this is a “cop out”. What is most important is creating an environment where women feel heard and seen.
Gender Equality Trends in Dentistry: While there is still some way to go, Dr. Kaur believes that women are, slowly but surely, becoming more and more visible within their organizations and the industry at large. She suggests that more women are getting promoted and being recognized for their work than before. Dr. Kaur notes that more organizations are making sure they have an initiative-focused approach on making sure there is a similar amount of women in leadership or in board roles. She has noticed that women are at the center of the action now, rather than on the periphery.
Addressing the Gender Roles Imbalance: Mike and Dr. Kaur discuss the underrepresentation and overrepresentation of women in certain types of roles. For instance, while there’s often an overrepresentation of women in HR-type roles, there can be an underrepresentation of women in operational leadership roles or technical roles. Dr. Kaur says that while this imbalance is not unique to dentistry (noting that this conditioning begins in early childhood), she believes that it’s through the awareness, visibility, and representation created by organizations such as Women in DSO that it can be rectified.
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