Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 17, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Gazette
Letters PROFESSION
Women as leaders and entrepreneurs LINDSAY Donaldson (VR, November 22, 2014, vol 175, pp 515-516) outlined her vision for a profession leading the way in gender equality and asks ‘Who’s in?’ Well, I’m certainly in and having chaired the session on women as leaders and entrepreneurs at BVA Congress I was delighted to see such an appetite to do something positive among our colleagues – female and male. So many people wanted to contribute to the discussion and debate that we ran out of time with hands still in the air, so we’ve taken the debate onto the BVA community (www.bva.co.uk/community) and I would encourage anyone who didn’t get the chance to have their say or anyone who couldn’t make the session to come and join in. There is an argument that we could do nothing and let market forces decide, and those practices that proactively choose to cater for work/life balance (for men and women) and to encourage women as leaders could find themselves at
an advantage. However, the vast majority of vets graduating are women and to do nothing feels like failing a whole generation of veterinary surgeons and is unlikely to leave the profession in a healthy state while we wait for market forces to catch up and dictate change. The debate at BVA Congress revealed some interesting information and comments from the floor indicated that some of the concerns are real. Like Lindsay Donaldson, I believe it’s time to do something rather than continually making statements while not really progressing with actions, so I’m keen to hear views on practical ways for us to ensure that there are equal opportunities for both women and men in the profession. It would also be great to use the BVA community to share links to further information and useful training or reading that we could all do to help us progress. Gudrun Ravetz (past-president, Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons), Warwick Road South, Manchester M16 0JW e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.g7415 December 6, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 567
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 17, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Women as leaders and entrepreneurs Gudrun Ravetz Veterinary Record 2014 175: 567
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7415 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/22/567.3
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
Gazette
Letters PROFESSION
Women as leaders and entrepreneurs LINDSAY Donaldson (VR, November 22, 2014, vol 175, pp 515-516) outlined her vision for a profession leading the way in gender equality and asks ‘Who’s in?’ Well, I’m certainly in and having chaired the session on women as leaders and entrepreneurs at BVA Congress I was delighted to see such an appetite to do something positive among our colleagues – female and male. So many people wanted to contribute to the discussion and debate that we ran out of time with hands still in the air, so we’ve taken the debate onto the BVA community (www.bva.co.uk/community) and I would encourage anyone who didn’t get the chance to have their say or anyone who couldn’t make the session to come and join in. There is an argument that we could do nothing and let market forces decide, and those practices that proactively choose to cater for work/life balance (for men and women) and to encourage women as leaders could find themselves at
an advantage. However, the vast majority of vets graduating are women and to do nothing feels like failing a whole generation of veterinary surgeons and is unlikely to leave the profession in a healthy state while we wait for market forces to catch up and dictate change. The debate at BVA Congress revealed some interesting information and comments from the floor indicated that some of the concerns are real. Like Lindsay Donaldson, I believe it’s time to do something rather than continually making statements while not really progressing with actions, so I’m keen to hear views on practical ways for us to ensure that there are equal opportunities for both women and men in the profession. It would also be great to use the BVA community to share links to further information and useful training or reading that we could all do to help us progress. Gudrun Ravetz (past-president, Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons), Warwick Road South, Manchester M16 0JW e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.g7415 December 6, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 567
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 17, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Women as leaders and entrepreneurs Gudrun Ravetz Veterinary Record 2014 175: 567
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7415 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/22/567.3
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
