In Practice 21: 614-618 (1999)
© 1999 British Veterinary Association

Women in the profession 2. Effects on practice structure and organisation

¹ Northumberland

IN the first article in this series (In Practice, July/August 1999, pp 386-389),Christine Shield quantified the dramatic increase in the numbers of women in the veterinary profession in recent years and suggested that one factor in the current manpower shortage is that more women wish to work part time and take career breaks for child-rearing in comparison with their male colleagues. In this article she considers the effects that the increasing number of women in the profession are having on practice structure and organisation in the UK. A summary of the implications for the profession as a whole is given in the box on page 618.

Note:

This article is adapted from a paper presented at the AGM of the UEVP and at the SPVS congress in May 1999. It is based on statistics generated by the RCVS Demographic Survey, the Quo Vadis survey, the SPVS Salaries Survey, the BVA/SPVS/Anval Practice Survey, the 1993 SPVS Young Graduates Survey and the 1994 BVA/SPVS Progression in Practice Survey.