Women make up 55 percent of active veterinarians and nearly 80 percent of the students in veterinary medicine. Despite this, women only make up 25 percent of leadership roles, and average salaries in the profession have dropped.

The book Leaders of the Pack: Women and the Future of Veterinary Medicine, published by Purdue University Press, was written by Julie Kumble M.Ed. and the late Dr. Donald Smith, dean emeritus of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, to address the gender gap between men and women in leadership.

Kumble, a researcher and writer whose career focused on empowering women, said that the gender gap isnt unique to veterinary medicine but can be found in every other field.

I just want to stress that every profession has a gender gap at the top of every single profession, Kumble said. The people at the top echelons of nursing, the CEOs and CFOs, those tend to be more men. Look at our Congress, its 20 percent women. If you look at who the partners are in law firms, only 20 percent are women, so its across the board. Veterinary medicine isnt unique.

According to Kumble, the gender gap is the result of many factors and there isnt one gleaming answer. One factor is that men were traditionally in the profession longer than women and own specialty practices like orthopedics or dentistry; these specialty practices pay higher salaries. Kumble encourages women to own their own practices.

Another factor is the linear trajectory of a career that doesnt accommodate women with children.

Women are the ones bearing children and raising children so how are we going to build into our system ways for them to get back to work when theyre ready and not miss out on salary and not miss out on promotions, Kumble said.

Kumble cited the Scandinavian countries as a source for solutions, which include policies on family leave or requiring minimum percentages of women on directory boards.

In the book, she gives advice on how women can close the gender gap. One thing she would say to a new student studying veterinary medicine is to be open-minded to the vast opportunities in the profession, from research to the government.

The second is to find mentors during all stages of your career who can offer advice and shine light on your path, (and) then to do the same for others, Kumble said.

Willie Reed, the Purdue dean of veterinary medicine, acknowledges the gender gap and hopes to be a mentor for his students.

Encouraging women to consider leadership positions and providing training for them is something we have fostered here in the college, Reed said.

Reed nominates women for a training program through the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, and the senior administration in Purdues college has more women than men, unlike most colleges.

One of the women who went through the program is Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Ann Weil, a clinical professor of anesthesiology.

I think my dean has done a lot to help me personally in terms of improving my leadership skills, Weil said. The AAVMC sponsors leadership training, and I had the privilege of being asked to participate in the program. You learn media training, conflict resolution, team building, and listening skills. Its a pretty intense program.

Reed believes leadership development is important not just for the faculty but also the students in his college, who are predominately women.

Leadership is something that is needed and is expected, Reed said. Its like many things, you have to study leadership and be trained and thats part of what were doing here in the curriculum of veterinary medicine.

Link:

Authors believe gender gap in veterinary medicine is fixable - Purdue Exponent