Perhaps, the great mystery of our time is the underlying
cause of the gender shift we see in modern society. Sixty years ago, I went
through a four professional school curriculum there were 42 students in the
class, one of whom was female. The class immediately before and immediately
after had no females. Various sources
indicate that currently about 50% of all practicing veterinarians are female
while females occupy 70% of seats in veterinary colleges. My last years of
teaching pathology, which was in 1994 there were 86% females in the class.
I noticed several instances of while still actively
teaching, a phenomenon that didn’t puzzle me, but suggest a trend. Two examples
deal with female staffing of faculty professorial groups. In one instance, a
female was appointed head of small animal surgery; she was the first female to
hold that position since the beginning of the college. Small animal surgery
staff turns over quite readily; nevertheless, this particular college did not
hire one male surgeon from the day of her appointment until today. In large
animal medicine and surgery, we soon learn you do not out muscle your patients
you out-smart them; nevertheless, the image of the “weaker sex” in large animal
medicine seems inappropriate. As students and young faculty members, we talked
about the attitude of conservative farmer clients talking to female
veterinarian as about breeding problems and pregnancy examination. As a result,
it was surprising to see a recent faculty picture taken at another college with
a female as head of equine medicine and surgery; the entire faculty and staff
are now female. To repeat, not only is the faculty but the animal handlers are
exclusively all female.
Obviously, it is politically incorrect to be offended by the
fact that when given equal opportunity, females would become involved but why
more females than males and in such a high ratio. If there are 100 seats in a
veterinary class and it is equally difficult to pass entry examinations, etc.,
the shift in gender would suggest more females are applying for entry. It is
not just that young girls fall in love with a horse as a very young age. The
same shift of gender seems to be happening in veterinary medicine and human
medicine as well.
Perhaps the gender gap is not just in professional schools
aimed at caring professions but the phenomenon seems broader? American colleges
for 35 years beginning in 1979, women have outnumbered men in American
colleges. Nor is it one type of degree-granting institution; it applies to part-timers
in community college to full-timers in private, as well as nonprofit colleges.
The basic fact remains, some career choices appeal to
females more than to males. Data would indicate computer science, physics, and
engineering are still overwhelmingly male. Females trend toward biology,
social, and behavioral sciences and as just mentioned medicine. Nursing seems
to be trending in the opposite direction; more males are enrolling in nursing
programs, but certainly not in equal proportions.
Although the process is nowhere near complete, it seems as
if we as a society are undergoing a fundamental change in attitude toward
gender. Stephen Pinker’s book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, fascinated me;
he clearly makes a case for a fundamental shift in human nature away from what
appears to be an innate violence to peaceful coexistence. Perhaps a gender
shift, so contrary to biological reality, is becoming equally universal and has
the same basis; it is something we learned. Consider survival of the fittest in
a caveman environment versus survival of the fittest in New York City. Think
about what applies and what no longer applies; who is physically, stronger,
acts as family head, who cooks, hunts and takes care of children. We have the
police force to be strong. We have a political organization to make group
decisions.
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