8 Mar 2024
XLVets officials hope the work, which has been outlined on International Women’s Day, will explore whether the challenges facing women seeking leadership roles have changed in recent years.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Kerrie Hedley at an VWIL event.
A group of independently owned veterinary practices has outlined new research plans to explore factors that help, and hinder, women in pursuing leadership roles within the sector.
XLVets is inviting women to share their experiences as part of the project, which has been launched on International Women’s Day (IWD) today (8 March).
XLVets said 38% of its member practices were now owned by women – twice as many as five years ago – and the new study aims to build on MBA research completed by its chief operating officer, Kerrie Hedley, in 2019.
That analysis found that women often encountered significant barriers that limited both their ambition and perceived opportunities to take up leadership positions.
But Mrs Hedley said several women had told her that the experience of reading others’ experiences in her study had helped to inspire them.
She said: “This feels like real change catalysed by the project.
“The change we’re working towards is increased representation of women as leaders within the veterinary profession, not to fill a quota where women are getting a leadership role because they’re a woman, but to create a world where gender is not the limiting factor.”
XLVets has already worked with Veterinary Woman to set up the Veterinary Women in Leadership (VWIL) group and Mrs Hedley’s story features in a newly published e-book celebrating IWD.
The new project plans to use focus groups to explore whether there has been a change in the perceived barriers and enablers to women becoming leaders over the past 5 years, as well as allowing women to share their experiences.
Anyone interested in participating can register their interest by emailing [email protected]
