Vetting for Passion: Race, Gender, and Inequalities in the Veterinary Profession

Despite calls from industry associations for a diverse workforce to meet a changing client base, racial and gendered occupational segregation persists in the veterinary profession. As of 2018, nearly 90% of veterinarians identify as White and more than 70% are women. Adilia James explains the causes and effects of this growing and alarming trend in Vetting for Passion.

James interviews aspiring and employed veterinarians about why marginalized groups are, ironically, not making equitable progress in an elite labor market that encourages diversity and inclusion policies. She shows how cultural and structural barriers exclude people of color from the profession and how relationships with animals are used as racialization tools. People of color are also hindered by factors such as social and lived experiences, the debt-to-income ratio, and an uncomfortable working environment.

Additionally, James finds that hiring managers, veterinary schools, and mentors rely on “constrained choice narratives” to justify their assumption that only White women are likely to appreciate the unique benefits of a career in veterinary medicine, leading these gatekeepers to excuse their opportunity hoarding as benevolent.

Vetting for Passion offers a critical case study of a profession whose associations, colleges, and workplaces justify and perpetuate a culture of racial exclusion.