Research into the veterinary profession in Ireland that set out to look at the factors affecting veterinary retention found that a “significant gender pay gap” (GPG) exists.
The research took the form of a survey that was open to all vets registered with the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) in 2019.
The results of the research – the first of its type in Ireland – were published recently in the Irish Veterinary Journal.
A total of 370 eligible responses were received with the median age being 31. The gender breakdown comprised 68% female and 32% male. The majority of respondents – 89% – worked in clinical practice; with 42.8% in mixed practice; 35.7% in small-animal practice; 15.2% solely with farm animals; and 6.2% in equine practice.
While not the aim of this study, a significant GPG of 10% was found between male and female veterinary associates/employees working in clinical practice only.
This compared similarly to (previously) documented GPGs in Ireland across all professions in 2018 of 11.3%, the survey found.
The similarity did not end there.
In the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe 2018 Vet Survey, female vets were paid, on average, 12% less than their male colleagues, which shows that this issue is reflected at a European level.
“Our findings are similar to other countries such as the UK where the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) Salary survey 2020, found a 15% GPG among veterinary surgeons,” according to the study.
That same survey found that the GPG was much smaller in the group qualified less than 15 years.
The Irish veterinary GPG
This GPG between male and female veterinary associates/employees working in clinical practice in Ireland is a “very disappointing finding” the study noted.
It merits “future attention by all stakeholders, including practice owners/partners, the VCI, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), other relevant government departments, and veterinary representative bodies”, the study said.
The study saw an overall GPG of 23.8% when accounting for the total population of study respondents, and an even larger GPG between male and female practice owners/partners of 43.7%.
“Although there were only 46 practice partners/owners in our study population, this GPG is alarming and would certainly warrant further investigation to determine the significance of our finding.
“If this is a consistent finding in a larger study of practice partners/owners, this could potentially represent a barrier to women within the veterinary industry progressing professionally from a financial point of view,” according to the researchers.
Of 343 respondents, the median gross salary was €50,000, with a median female gross salary of €45,750 and median male gross salary of €60,000.
Vets working in clinical practice had a markedly lower median gross salary in comparison to veterinary practitioners employed by the government or other areas of the profession.
‘Likely to leave’
Another worrying finding of the research was that 32.8% of respondents described themselves as likely to leave the profession.
“The Irish veterinary profession should take cognisance of this apparent lack of job satisfaction among recent graduates and take action to minimise the haemorrhage of talent,” the study noted.
While the majority of participants expected to apply for new positions within two years (53.6%), most of these respondents wanted to remain in the veterinary profession (53%) and live in Ireland (78%).
This suggests that, where improvements can be made in either work-life balance, financial gain or both, progress in retaining veterinary practitioners in their current positions could be achieved.
A recent survey of vets in the UK found that vets who were female, on lower salaries, and those recently qualified were more likely to plan to leave their current position
In that study the most common reasons given by respondents for leaving their current employment were, in order of frequency: Work-life balance; management; and salary.
Other retention-related issues raised in the Irish survey include work-life balance; number of hours worked; duration of employment; and salary.
Positives were to be found also, however, and respondents were satisfied with their jobs for a number of reasons:
- The amount of out-of-hours worked;
- Benefits coming with the job including a contribution to continuing professional development (CPD);
- The provision of maternity/paternity leave and a provision for sick leave as needed;
- Male vets were less likely to move on from their current job within two years than female veterinary practitioners;
- Vets that were already working in state jobs, e.g. for the DAFM, were found to be less likely to move on from their current job.