Gender and veterinary medicine

Veterinary medicine, previously a male-dominated profession, has experienced a significant increase in the number of women studying at veterinary colleges and practising in all fields of the profession. In Canada, and in the United States, women constitute approximately 80% of the veterinary college student population. Forty-three percent of practising veterinarians in Canada are now female, and women are predicted to represent the majority of the veterinary profession by 2007 (1).

Men are not applying for admission to veterinary colleges to the same extent as women. In the United States, men constituted 44% of the applicant pool in 1985, but only 28% of the applicant pool in 1999 (2). Canada has experienced a similar gender shift in its veterinary student applicant pool. The reasons for the relative decline in the attractiveness of the veterinary profession for male applicants, and the increased attractiveness of the profession for women, are speculative.

Explanations that have been put forward for the feminization of the veterinary profession include the following: (1) elimination of discrimination at admission based on gender; (2) improvement in chemical restraint for large animals; (3) an increase in the number of female role models, especially in physically challenging aspects of the profession; and (4) the caring image of veterinarians portrayed in books and on television (2,3).

The decreased interest of men in veterinary medicine has been attributed to: (1) the reluctance of men to enter careers with low or stagnant incomes (the case in veterinary medicine for some time); (2) loss of autonomy in the profession (associated with the proliferation of corporate practices in the United States and a general decrease in the number of practice owners relative to employed veterinarians); and (3) a “trend effect” (as more women enter the veterinary profession, it decreases the profession prestige as a male occupation) (2,3).

In an Australian study of veterinary students and recent graduates, the factors that influenced selection of veterinary medicine as a career were generally the same for both genders, but some differences did come to light (4). Factors that were of more importance in influencing males to study veterinary medicine were a desire to be independent of supervision and the financial attractiveness of veterinary practice. Factors that were of more importance to females in choosing a career in veterinary medicine included a love of animals, the image of veterinarians portrayed on television, an interest as a child in living things, and the scientific study of disease.

Is there a problem with the veterinary profession becoming feminized? Some say it will lead to declining veterinary incomes and the establishment of practices primarily centered on small animals. Others have expressed the concern that women will not participate fully in professional life, including practice ownership. Perhaps men will exclude veterinary medicine as a career choice with increasing frequency, as has been the case in the nursing profession.

Studies conducted in the United States provide some evidence that feminization has affected the economic well-being of the profession (5,6). Veterinary incomes of women in the United States (and Canada) lag behind those of men, and the income of men in the profession is already less than optimal. In the United States, women continue to accept lower salaries than men. This may affect the incomes of all veterinarians, based on the theory that low incomes usually become the measuring point for all incomes. Women (as a group) appear not to place income high enough on their list of expectations and express satisfaction with much lower salaries than do men (7). It has also been suggested that women in general judge their career satisfaction less by objective criteria (salary) than by subjective criteria, such as relationships with colleagues, staff, and clients.

Decreased participation of recent veterinary graduates in food animal practice has been hotly debated. One of the reasons proposed for this is the large proportion of women now graduating from veterinary colleges. Results of a 2001 American Veterinary Medical Association survey tend to support this contention (8). Only 4% of female veterinary graduates of the class of 2001 in the United States entered “large animal exclusive” or “large animal predominant” practice compared with 13% of male graduates. In contrast, 56% of 2001 female veterinary graduates entered “companion animal exclusive” or “companion animal predominant” practice versus only 40% of male graduates.

Authors of an American study asked early new graduates about practice ownership and discovered that the majority (86% of men and 71% of women) were interested in owning a practice (5,7). However, the study also demonstrated that over time, the desire for practice ownership decreased, particularly among women. Only 38% of established female veterinarians, compared with 61% of established male veterinarians, desired practice ownership.

The veterinary profession has undergone dramatic feminization and this trend is likely to continue. Men, in general, appear to have been discouraged from considering the profession as a career choice, and this has resulted in a lack of diversity. The feminization of veterinary medicine has also changed the profession in other ways. Many of these changes are desirable, others may be less so. The caring and nurturing aspects of the veterinary profession may have been enhanced, but income may have been compromised, there may be less interest in practice ownership, and fewer graduates may be entering large animal practice.

The challenges to the profession are to improve the business acumen of all veterinarians, including women, to encourage practice ownership; to encourage entry into food animal practice; and to increase the attractiveness of veterinary medicine as a career choice for men.