IMPORTANCE: Women have been achieving gender equity in lower academic positions, such as assistant professors. However, they have been underrepresented in higher ranks of academic endodontics.

OBJECTIVES: The first specific aim was to assess women’s participation as authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial boards of the highest-impact endodontic journals from 2010 through 2023. The second specific aim was to test whether there are gender disparities in faculty rank after accounting for differences due to leadership roles and scholarship in US endodontic programs.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: After a PubMed® search of publications in Dental Traumatology (DTR), International Endodontic Journal (IEJ), and the Journal of Endodontics (JOE), authors, reviewers, and editorial board member names were downloaded. Gender API software was used to determine gender based on first names. Fifty-four (54) universities with endodontic postgraduate departments were identified in the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) website in 2022, and faculty information and rank were verified on departmental websites. Respective h-index scores were calculated using Harzing’s Publish or Perish software.

RESULTS: Of the 36,587 authors, 35% were women; the percentage of women authors increased by 0.5% per year (95% CI=0.3 to 0.6%). There was a similar percentage increase in women reviewers and editorial board members (0.8% and 1.0%, respectively CI=0.6 to 1.0% and 0.2 to 1.8%). In 2023, the US endodontic academic leadership was 29% women. Women comprised 23% of chairs, 21% of post-graduate directors, and 47% of pre-doctoral director positions (P=0.013). Men published more than women, outnumbered women as reviewers, and held more positions on editorial boards. Men outnumbered women in all faculty ranks. As a cohort, men had more publications than women.

CONCLUSION: The percentage of research productivity increased for women as authors, reviewers, and editorial board members. After adjusting for differences due to leadership roles and h-index, there is no evidence for a difference in the likelihood of holding higher academic rank due to gender.