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Female vets ‘still facing discrimination’ - survey
BVA president Simon Doherty said it is "unacceptable" that when everything about two vets is equal, their gender can have a significant impact on how they are perceived, treated and paid.
Research explores attitudes towards male and female vets 

A new study suggests that women in the veterinary profession are still facing discrimination and the most likely culprits are those who believe it is no longer an issue.

Scientists at the University of Exeter, working alongside the BVA, surveyed around 260 UK-based employers, partners and managers to find out if they showed any bias when reviewing male and female work records.

Participants in the study were asked to review a vet’s performance evaluation. All were shown the same evaluation but half were randomly assigned a version in which the vet’s name was ‘Mark’ while the rest reviewed ‘Elizabeth’.

In total, 44 per cent of participants said they felt female vets no longer experience discrimination. Of these, 66 per cent were male. Those who held this belief said they would pay ‘Mark’ a significantly higher salary, ranging from £1,100 to £3,300 more than Elizabeth.

This set of participants also perceived Mark as significantly more competent than Elizabeth. Furthermore, managers and employers who perceived a member of staff as more competent would be more likely to let them take on more managerial responsibilities; encourage them to pursue promotions and advise other vets to look to them as a valuable source of knowledge.

By contrast, the 42 per cent of participants who believed that female vets still experience gender discrimination showed little to no difference in how they treated or perceived Mark and Elizabeth.

Commenting on the findings, BVA president Simon Doherty said it is “unacceptable that in 2018, when everything about two vets is equal, their gender can still have a significant impact on how they are perceived, treated and paid.”

Lead author Dr Chris Begeny said: “…our results clearly demonstrate that discrimination is still a problem, negatively impacting the careers of women in this profession.

“But not everyone is necessarily contributing to this inequality. Instead it seems there may be a subset of individuals—substantial in size, but a subset no less—who may need to take a little extra time at work to consider whether their own bias is affecting their judgement on which of their employees or colleagues are truly most competent and capable.”

BVA said it will undertake further research with Exeter to shed light on how these beliefs and inequalities can be tackled. 

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.