Apparently not. In this case the “we” I’m referring to are women leaders, and the “not done yet” refers to Facebook COO’s Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In which examines why women’s progress in leadership roles has not moved forward in the 30 years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States.
A woman who has taken action within the veterinary profession in six short months is Dr. Karen Bradley, this issue’s featured guest column interviewee. Dr. Bradley is the newly installed President of the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative (WVLDI). Watch for both Dr. Bradley and this group to grow by leaps and bounds in the coming months. She’s not done yet.
Today marks the start of the North American Veterinary Community Conference (NAVC), and as I was preparing to write this post I was looking backward for what I wrote last year. Blank. That was because I was on crutches last year and dealing with other health issues. I made it through, but I sure wasn’t posting. This year I’m here honored to represent the Germinder & Associates and Goodnewsforpets.com teams at a conference packed with promise — 30 years plus after graduating. There’s no “done yet” here.
The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB) Helping People Help Their Pets column featuring chapter editors and authors from the Decoding Your Dog book we unveiled last week. This includes Debra Horwitz, DVM, DACVB, Chair of the ACVB Public Relations Committee. She will be signing books at the Ceva Animal Health Booth #331 on Tuesday, January 21st from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The ACVB column is just the start of new items you will be seeing on Goodnewsforpets.com. You will soon be seeing more interviews, more videos, more contests, and more just good stuff! No “done yet” there.
And finally, I thought of someone so special and treasured in veterinary medicine that has made a lasting impact in my professional career and a host of others. I initially was introduced to Dr. Bradley by Dr. Mary Beth Leininger. Dr. Leininger, the first woman president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and now a member of the prestigious AVMA’s Council on Education (COE) is hard at work to address issues in veterinary education. I first met her when she was Chair of the AVMA Public Relations Committee and I was launching the “Pets Need Dental, Care Too!,” campaign. No “done yet” there.
Are “we” as women, no matter what our profession and what the status and level of our leadership roles done yet 30 years out? These women in veterinary medicine — collectively with a host of others — and with the support and championing of their male colleagues are not done by a long shot. Myself? I’ve also been supported along the way by both males and females (as I can’t forget four brothers, one of whom works with me now). Together, we are not done. Nope, not by a long shot.