Veterinarians, Female

For centuries, most veterinarians were male, but the gender balance among veterinary students began to shift as more and more women entered the profession. The number of applications from prospective female veterinary students rose from five percent in 1970 to approximately 75 percent by the early 21st century. On the other hand, between 1991 and 2002, the number of male veterinarians fell by 15 percent.

In 2002, officials from Tufts (62 percent), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (75 percent), and the University of California Davis (81 percent) reported that females made up the majority of graduating veterinary students. By 2005, according to the American [Page 1516]Veterinary Medical Association, females made up the majority of all veterinarians in the United States. In 2009, there were 44,802 female ...