Veterinarians, Female

The Major Effect of Title IX

Opening up the field of veterinary medicine was a direct result of the women's movement, which was in its heyday in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s. Under pressure from feminists, Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which stipulated that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” At the time, there were fewer than 500 practicing female veterinarians in the United States. As a result of Title IX, however, veterinary schools were no longer allowed to show preference for males over females when admitting students to veterinary programs. At the same time, new medical breakthroughs made it less likely that veterinarians would contract diseases from animals in their care.

Salary Differentials and other Considerations

Another reason for the rise in the number of females and the drop of males within the field of veterinary medicine is generally explained by the fact that the salaries of veterinarians are lower than those of individuals engaged in other fields of medicine where males dominate. In the 1970s, when males still made up the majority of veterinarians, salaries were only slightly lower than those of physicians. Despite the fact that training programs are somewhat comparable to those of physicians, by the early 21st century, veterinarians were averaging $70,000 to $80,000 a year as compared to physicians, who averaged $150,000 annually.

It has been posited that males choose to be physicians rather than veterinarians because they have families to support and need the higher salaries. An additional factor is the fact that male veterinarians are more likely than female veterinarians to choose higher-paying specialties over relatively low-paying fields such as working with zoo animals. Many females choose veterinary medicine because of the flexibility in scheduling that is available, and many females with families opt for part-time work, which is generally not an option for physicians.

Between 1991 and 2001, the amount of money that Americans spent on pet care rose from $6.9 billion to $11.1 billion. Some veterinarians are concerned that the shift toward female dominance of the veterinary profession may eventually cause problems, because female veterinarians are less likely than males to choose to look after farm animals rather than domestic pets. Routine veterinary work, such as administering shots to farm animals, is often left to assistants.

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