Veterinary medicine has undergone sweeping changes in the last few
decades. Women now account for 55 percent of the active veterinarians in
the field, and nearly 80 percent of veterinary students are women.
However, average salaries have dropped as this shift has occurred, and
even with women in the vast majority, only 25 percent of leadership
roles are held by women. These trends point to gender-based inequality
that veterinary medicine, a profession that tilts so heavily toward
women, is struggling to address. How will the profession respond? What
will this mean for our students and schools? What will it mean for our
pets entrusted to veterinarian care? Who has succeeded in these
situations? Who is taking action to lead change? What can we learn from
them to lead the pack in our lives? Leaders of the Pack, by Julie Kumble
and Dr. Donald Smith, explores key themes in leadership and highlights
women in veterinary medicine whose stories embody those themes. In it,
Kumble and Smith cull over three years of interviews to profile a wide
variety of women as they share triumphs and challenges, lucky as well as
tough breaks, and the sound advice and words that inspired them to take
their careers in unanticipated directions. By sharing unique stories
that illuminate different paths to leadership and reflecting on best
practices through commentary and research, Leaders of the Pack will
allow more female leaders to create wider pathways to the top of their
profession.
