Women 'under-represented' in parts of vet profession, study reveals
Just 21 per cent of speakers at ECVS between 2012 and 2022 were women.
New research from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies has found a persisting gender gap in elements of the veterinary profession.
An examination of a number of veterinary research publications, as well as professional speaking opportunities, revealed that women remain under-represented in these areas.
In a review of the speakers at the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (ECVS) annual meetings between 2012 and 2022, researchers discovered that just 21 per cent of its speakers were women. None of these women delivered a keynote lecture.
This is despite the fact that women accounted for 34 per cent of specialists at the ECVS in the same time period.
A related study, which examined over 20 years of publications from the journal Veterinary Surgery, found that women were similarly underrepresented in authorship. Analysis revealed that only around one-third of primary authors were women.
Overall, the proportion of women named as a leading author on veterinary publications has been growing steadily. The researchers report that this has risen from 29 per cent in 2010 to 60 per cent in 2022.
However, researchers say that women are still less likely to hold senior author positions, and are usually responsible for leading and funding research projects.
Experts have particularly raised concern about the impact a lack of representation might have on veterinary undergraduates, the majority of which are women. They warn that a lack of female role models in surgery, unconscious bias, limited flexibility in training, and unequal access to research funding, all might contribute to gender inequality.
Researchers say that orthopaedics has particularly low female representation, perhaps due to perception that veterinary professionals need to be physically strong to work in orthopaedics, or a lack of female specialists providing training.
The research was conducted in collaboration with GENDER.ED, a hub for gender studies at the University of Edinburgh.
Kelly Blacklock, a professor of small animal soft tissue surgery, said: “Equity benefits everyone. By recognising where the gaps are, we can start to create opportunities that allow all talented people to progress in their careers, regardless of gender.
“These findings confirm what many in the profession already suspected. Our hope is that this evidence helps build a constructive discussion about how we can work together to achieve greater equity for everyone.”
Both the research into women as leading authors in veterinary surgery and gender inequity in conference speakers have been published in PLOS One.
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