Women in Veterinary Medicine: Where We Were and Where We’re Going

By Hannah Rice, Biology, 2021

There is little known about the first female veterinarians, which seems odd now that the veterinary industry is heavily femaledominated. While Dr. Mignon Nicholson was the first known female veterinarian, graduating from McKillip Veterinary College in 1903, there were no records of her practicing.1 Seven years later, Dr. Elinor McGrath graduated from Chicago Veterinary College. This time, there were records of her practicing for about thirty years and becoming the first female member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).2 In 1933, Dr. Patricia O’Connor Halloran helped pave the way for female veterinarians by becoming the first female zoo veterinarian.3 Dr. Mary Knight Dunlap graduated from Michigan State University the same year as Dr. Halloran and was also a trailblazer.3 Dr. Dunlap founded the Women’s Veterinary Association (WVA) with the intent of creating an encouraging collective environment for female veterinarians.3

However, it was not until 1949 when the first Black female veterinarians entered the field.1 Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb graduated from Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Jane Hinton graduated from the University of Pennsylvania that same year.1 That leaves a 46-year gap between the time the first white female veterinarian graduated and the first Black female veterinarian graduated. As of 2017, Black veterinarians make up only 2.1 percent of veterinarians in the United States.4 While the veterinary industry seems to be overcoming the gender gap, with female veterinarians making up about 61% of veterinarians in the United States, there is still work that needs to be done in terms of racial diversity, accessibility, and the gender pay gap.2

Dr. Jane Hinton

Source: File:Jane Hinton.jpg. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2021, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jane_Hinton.jpg

While the gender pay gap is low amongst newly graduated veterinarians, it develops over time and is most obvious among those who make over $100,000 a year.5 As of 2018, there was a 2-20% disparity depending on veterinary experience.5 One causative factor may be that 46.5% of veterinarians making this amount of income are practice owners, and males make up 59% of practice owners.5 Interestingly, regardless of gender, veterinarians with children have lower incomes on average.5 This can be explained by implicit bias in the hiring process. Those hiring are not looking for young veterinarians with young children because they think that parents prioritize family responsibilities over the practice.5 My hope is that as time passes and we keep demanding change through encouraging salary negotiations, making promotions and pay raises transparent, and encouraging women to move up in the hierarchy, the gender pay gap will eventually cease to exist.the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and inferior parietal lobule.1,2 It is now understood that the DMN is also linked to social understandings of others, such as empathy, morality, and sense of meaning.2 For aesthetic experiences, the activation of the default mode network allows us to feel what the artist was feeling and elicits sensory and emotional reactions that are personally relevant.3,4

“The gap in mean starting salaries between male and female veterinarians has started to close in the past six years,” (talked about in the second paragraph).

Source: Mattson, K. (2018, November 28). Mind the pay gaps. Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https://www.avma.org/ javma-news/2018-12-15/mind-pay-gaps. “Dr. Jane Hinton” (mentioned at the end of the first paragraph) Source: File:Jane Hinton.jpg. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2021, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jane_Hinton.jpg

The benefits of aesthetic experiences are farreaching—from healing trauma with art therapy for veterans and service members to improving quality of life through of gender, veterinarians with children have lower incomes on average.5 This can be explained by implicit bias in the hiring process. Those hiring are not looking for young veterinarians with young children because they think that parents prioritize family responsibilities over the practice.5 My hope is that as time passes and we keep demanding change through encouraging salary negotiations, making promotions and pay raises transparent, and encouraging women to move up in the hierarchy, the gender pay gap will eventually cease to exist.

I am currently applying to veterinary school myself, and one of my personal career goals is to serve in the United States Army Veterinary Corps. The Army Veterinary Corps was created during World War I by President Woodrow Wilson with the National Defense Act of 1916.6 Captain Dr. Thais de Tienne was the first woman to be commissioned in the Army Veterinary Corps in 1945.1 This was three years before President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act in June of 1948, which fully recognized women as members of the armed forces.7 As I move forward in my quest to attend veterinary school and move into the profession, I look up to these women who have come before me and have given me the footing to stand. Dr. Dunlap, the founder of the WVA, once said, “It is the duty of a pioneer to blaze a trail, to set up markers for the guidance of those who come after.”1 I think that Dr. Dunlap, and those who came before her or followed in her footsteps, did just that. It will soon become the responsibility of myself, and those who come after me, to continue setting up markers and serving as examples for female leadership in veterinary medicine.

Source: Filippo, M. S. (2019, March 07). From groundbreakers to disease hunters to Nazi fighters: A look at notable female veterinarians on International Women’s Day. Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https://www.avma.org/news/press-releases/ groundbreakers-disease-hunters-nazi-fighters-look notable-female-veterinarians.

[1] Wuest, P. (2019, October 15). The History of Women in Veterinary Medicine in the U.S. Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/thehistory-of-women-in-veterinary-medicine-in-the-u-s/.

[2] Filippo, M. S. (2019, March 07). From groundbreakers to disease hunters to Nazi fighters: A look at notable female veterinarians on International Women’s Day. Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https://www. avma.org/news/press-releases/groundbreakersdisease-hunters-nazi-fighters-look-notable femaleveterinarians.

[3] Cskopecce. (2019, March 18). James Herriot and 7 Other Famous Veterinarians Who Inspire Animal Lovers. Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https:// www.sgu.edu/blog/veterinary/james-herriot-andother-famous veterinarians/.

[4] Why Mentors Matter - Especially for Black Veterinarians: One Doctor’s Story. (n.d.). Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https://www.boehringeringelheim.us/news/news/why-role-models-matterblack-veterinarians-one doctors-story.

[5] Mattson, K. (2018, November 28). Mind the pay gaps. Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https://www.avma. org/javma-news/2018-12-15/mind-pay-gaps.

[6] Veterinary Medicine in the USA: War Drives Creation of Veterinary Schools. (2019, April 12). Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https://cvm.msu.edu/vetschool-tails/ veterinary-medicine-in-the-usa-war-drives-creation-of veterinary-schools.

[7] Gorbulja-Maldonado, A. (2020, March 17). ‘We can do it:’ The history of women in military service. Retrieved January 02, 2021, from https://www.legion.org/ womenveterans/248582/%E2%80%98we-can-do-ithistory women-military-service.