For female veterinarians who want to specialize in zoological work, a new study on family work and income for diplomates of the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM) holds both good and bad news with a recent study that was published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.. While women in the field don’t seem to suffer from a gender pay gap, many feel that they must give up on having children in order to succeed.

On this episode of Vet Candy IRL, host, Shannon Gregoire meets Dr. Tara Harrison, an associate professor of zoological medicine at North Carolina State University and lead author of the study.  

The study showed that when it comes to having a family, respondents’ perception of its effect on career did differ by gender. Seventy-six percent of females and 47% of males reported delaying having children because of their career. Additionally, 65% of females with children felt that having children had a negative effect on their career, compared to 16% of males with children. Finally, 85% of females without children, and 44% of males without children, thought having children would have negatively affected their careers.  

What can we do to change this?  Start by having the conversation.  Listen in to learn more!