As we prepare to celebrate International Women’s Day on March the 8th, let’s take a moment to consider how far the gender bias has shifted within the veterinary sector in recent years. Since the first female Vet, Aleen Cust, qualified in 1900, things have certainly changed, and arguably the profession is now very female dominated. You go girls!
What are the statistics?
It seems beyond belief that Aleen was not even permitted to join the RCVS after sitting her exams in 1900. Because she was female, Aleen was not accepted as a member of the Royal College until 1922, after the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act finally came into play. As gender discrimination became more controlled, the numbers of women in veterinary did begin to rise, but by 1960 still only around 5% of Vets were female. Fast forward to 2023 and this number is up to nearly 60%! These statistics are even more dramatic in the population of young Vets coming through University, with approximately 80% of applicants for Veterinary Medicine degrees being women.
This isn’t a trend localised to the UK- America and Australia are seeing similar shifts amongst their veterinary population. But why is this? There’s a variety of theories as to why the gender discrepancy is so high….
Why the shift?
- Is it because girls generally perform better in A-levels, thus securing the high grades required to study Veterinary Science at University?
- Is it that women are less motivated by earning potential and are therefore prepared to accept the comparatively low salary (compared to medicine, dentistry and law) that veterinary offers?
- Is it that men are increasingly reluctant to work in establishments where they are ‘outnumbered’ by women?
- Has the corporatisation of many veterinary practices become a deterrent to men, who are statistically more likely to want to own their own practice?
- Could it be that the increase in ‘flexible working opportunities’ within the profession has attracted more women; specifically those that know they may want to start a family? Our May 2022 blog post ‘Attract and retain more staff- 6 ways to increase staff reward through effective employee benefits’, highlights the attraction of flexible working hours, and/or a 4 day week working pattern. Many practices are now getting on board with this concept and it may be this that has encouraged more women, who might otherwise have looked elsewhere, to think about a veterinary career. Many practices now even offer ‘school hours’ roles- perfect for Mums (or other caregivers!) who need to fit the school run in.
So what is the answer?!
As with any demographic shift, the cause of the feminisation is likely multifactorial. Is it going to cause problems going forwards- who knows?! It’s hard to predict the effect that this will have on the profession longer term. As more and more practices move towards corporate ownership, the issue of female vets not wanting to own a practice seems to become irrelevant. So we will have to wait and see.
For now, let’s simply appreciate how much the veterinary profession has changed- and how a job once inaccessible to women has now become dominated by them! Although this may go on to present it’s own issues, it’s still a real success story for professional women. Hopefully in the future, other male dominated, or traditionally male, roles will similarly become more reachable for women.
Fancy a career chat?
If you find yourself considering a change of role within the Veterinary sector, whether that be a clinical Vet or RVN job, or a non-clinical position, don’t hesitate to get in touch for a confidential chat. We have a lot of lovely opportunities available within the Veterinary world that we would love to share with you: olivia@elitestaffingsolutions.co.uk
