Encouraging Signs for Women's Leadership in the AVMA House of Delegates in 2014

By Donald F. Smith, Cornell University, and Julie Kumble, Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts

In the companion article posted on July 31^st,[1] we reported that the percentage of women delegates in the current House of Delegates (HOD) is 31.4%.[2] As hopeful as those data appeared relative to the proportion of women we reported a year ago (25%),[3]  we also expressed concern that the voting power of women delegates was constrained because of the proportional weight of the delegates from the ten largest states, eight of whom are men. This is not to imply that men who serve on the HOD fail to make wise and informed decisions, but rather that the deliberations of a decision-making body as critical to the profession as the HOD, should be more representative of the gender profile of the AVMA membership, which is now well over 50% women.

In this article, we present data that further define the demographic profile of women in the House. The following graph shows the percentage of men and women HOD members (delegates and alternates are combined in this graph), segmented by years of graduation from veterinary college.

The high proportion of women HOD members who graduated in the most recent five-year periods (including the years 1995-99 and 2000-04) represents the period when the percentage of women graduates increased from approximately 65% to 72% of the aggregate of US colleges. Though the number of HOD women delegates and alternates who graduated during these two five-year periods is not large (15 and 5, respectively), there appears to be a close parallel between the percentage of women graduating during this period and the percentage of women delegates and alternates in the House. 

Percentage of men and women in House of Delegates 

segmented by years of graduation from veterinary college. 

Delegates and alternates are combined in this graph.

(From AVMA website, www.AVMA.org), July 1, 2014)[4]

This is especially encouraging because it shows progress over the proportion of women in the HOD who graduated in the 15 previous years (1980-1994). Women who graduated during that earlier period have lower proportionate representation in the HOD compared to their male colleagues. For example, while the proportion of women graduates ranged from about 40% in the early 1980s, increasing to 50% in the late 1980s, and to 60% in the early 1990s, the percentage of women currently in the HOD who graduated during that period was far less, ranging from 20% (early 1980s) to less than 40% a decade later. 

There may be multiple personal, professional and even institutional reasons why women who graduated more recently (1995-2004) are proportionately well-represented in the House. We do not assume that these demographic changes are happening simply because more women are graduating and joining the profession.  After all, the evidence from earlier graduating years (noted above) do not support that conclusion any more than well-documented evidence from other professions.

Though the numbers are not high, the data presented here are encouraging. In the future, we would like to explore potential causative factors and propose recommendations for replicating successful strategies to encourage even greater proportions of female participation.

While not simply a numbers issue—women don’t add value by just being at the table—we believe that the women who have been in the HOD and who are being added now in greater numbers, are not only making a substantive and positive difference, but have great capacity to add real value to the profession as we face the challenges ahead.

By Dr. Donald F. Smith and Julie Kumble, Director of Grants and Programs, Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027. She can be reached at juliek@womensfund.net.

The authors thank Dr. Lisa Greenhill, Associate Executive Director for Institutional Research and Diversity at AAVMC, for her contributions and review of this story; also Mr. Nate Watson ’17 for his contributions to data collection.

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

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[1] Smith, Donald F. and Julie Kumble. “Women in the AVMA’s 2014 House of Delegates, with Some Government Comparisons.” Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, July 15, 2014.

[2] AVMA web site, Jul 1, 2014. 

[3] Smith Donald F. and Julie Kumble. “Women’s Leadership in the U.S. Congress and the AVMA’s House of Delegates: Exploring Parallels and Looking Forward.” Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, April 28, 2013.

[4] Source, AVMA website, July 1, 2014, Ibid. 

Women in AVMA's 2014 House of Delegates, with some Government Comparisons

By Donald F. Smith, Cornell University and Julie Kumble, Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts


In April 2013, we reported on the gender makeup of the AVMA’s House of Delegates (HOD).[i]  We thought readers might be interested in seeing an update of the current composition of this important legislative body of the veterinary profession in as they meet for their semi-annual HOD meeting this week in Denver.[ii]

Graph 1 below shows that 22 (31.4%) of the 70 HOD delegates are women.[iii]  This is a higher proportion than we reported last year when women comprised 25% of the HOD delegates. The percentage of female delegates representing the 52 states (including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia) is  26.9% and the percentage representing the allied organizations is 44.4%.

Graph 1. Percentage of women and men in current HOD (July 1, 2014) showing total percentage, and also segmented by those who represent states and those who represent affiliated organizations.
(Data from AVMA, www.avma.org, July 1, 2014)

The proportion of women in the HOD does not represent the full story with respect to voting power, however. This is because the voting power for delegates representing state associations (including Puerto Rica and the District of Columbia) is weighted proportionate to the number of AVMA members in each particular state.

For example, delegates from the ten states with the most AVMA members carry approximately half of the total votes apportioned to all states. Because eight of these ten delegates are men (including the delegates from the five largest states), the weighting of male votes is disproportionately high compared to the total number of delegates.

Though the female representation of the allied organizations is higher (44%), the impact of their aggregate voting power is not realized proportionate to their numerical presence in the HOD because these organizations carry only two votes each.  Therefore, in the aggregate, the affiliated organizations provide less than 10% of the total weighted voting power of the HOD, with the other 90% coming from delegates representing state associations.

This is not to diminish the substantial progress that has been made in women’s representation in the House during the past year. Not only has the proportion of women delegates increased substantially, as noted above, but the gender ratio of the alternate delegates for the 10 largest states is now 50%. If some of these alternate delegates become delegates in the next few years, this by itself will have a substantial impact on the weighted vote of the body.

As we did in our story in 2013, we again match our HOD gender profile with data from the US Congress. We also added governors for one additional point of comparison. (See graph 2, below.)

Graph 2. Percentage of women and men delegates in current HOD (July 1, 2014) and of three governing bodies (US Senate and House of Representatives; and State Governors).
(Data from AVMA, www.avma.org, July 1, 2014, and other sources.)

Scholars generally recommend a minimum of 30% women in leadership positions to achieve a critical mass where they effectively influence policy and decision-making.  Unlike in the US Congress and governorships, we have reached that 30% point in the HOD.  Though we have not yet reached the threshold in weighted voting power within the House, we are optimistic considering the progress over the past year and the impact that the Women's Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative also may be having to increase awareness for the importance in achieving more women in leadership positions.  This is a favorable sign in a profession that is now well over 50% women.   

The authors extend thanks to Nathan Watson '17 for his assistance in preparing this story.

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

[i] Smith, Donald F. and Julie Kumble. Women’s Leadership in the U.S. Congress and the AVMA’s House of Delegates: Exploring Parallels and Looking Forward. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, April 28, 2013.

[ii] The House of Delegates meets just prior to the AVMA Convention (July 24-25, 2014).

[iii] This includes on delegates, not alternate delegates (delegates are non voting). The proportion of women among alternates is currently 34.1%.

AVMA Presidents of the 21st Century

Donald F. Smith, Cornell University

Posted July 16, 2014

The AVMA convention is almost upon us, and with it, the selection of the president-elect who will assume the presidency for 2015-16.1 The decision will be made by the House of Delegates (HOD) immediately prior to the convention.

The typical profile of the fifteen 21st century presidents is a 60-something male small animal practice owner who graduated from veterinary college 35-40 years before their installation. Only one president was elected from a career outside of private clinical practice (Bonnie Beaver, academia), and her specialty is behavior, a subset of medicine.2 Though a few of the recent presidents have had experience in mixed animal practice, none came from a primarily or exclusively food animal or equine practice.

The breadth of educational background of our 21st century presidents has been remarkable. They are graduates of 11 different veterinary colleges. What is even more impressive is that the states in which they reside have been equally distributed from the five regions of the country, with three each from the West, Midwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast.

In a previous article, I mentioned this aspect of our diversity and contrasted it to some branches of our government.3 Consider the justices on the current Supreme Court, for example, where eight of the nine are graduates of just two law schools.4 Or what about the four most recent US presidents whom are all Ivy League graduates, with two5 having obtained law degrees from the same colleges as the Supreme Court justices.

In terms of AVMA leadership experience before election to the presidency, most have arisen from the Executive Board (EB), with many serving as chair or vice chair. (Drs James Brandt and Joe Howell served as chair of the EB following their presidencies). Several presidents also served on the HOD for a number of years before ascending to the Board. In 2002, Dr. Jack Walther became the first person in many decades to be elected president-elect from the position of vice president, a position which is primarily dedicated to student interactions.6

I acknowledge the desirability to have experienced and well-prepared veterinarians in the office of the president. However, I sometimes wonder if we could find a way to elect qualified AVMA presidents with fewer than 30 years experience―the average length since 2000 is 36.8 years―since receiving their veterinary degrees. I recognize there are financial, professional development, and work-life balance issues, but perhaps we could develop creative organizational strategies that open the process to a larger pool of potential candidates.

Regardless of how we strive to optimally represent the entirety of our profession, let’s make sure we do not lose some of the desirable features of our current situation. Geographic and educational diversity are two positive components of our presidential profile. I, for one, think those are important items of note and that they could, in a quiet way, even serve as an exemplar for our judicial and executive branches of government.

Following is a list of the first 15 AVMA presidents of the 21st Century.

Name	Term	State	College	AVMA Leadership7
Theodore Cohn	2014-15	Colorado	TUSK ’75	EB(CH), HOD
Clark Fobian	2013-14	Missouri	UMO ’77	EB
Douglas Aspros	2012-13	New York	COR ’75	EB(VC), COE
Rene Carlson	2011-12	Wisconsin	MINN ’78	VP, HOD, COE
Larry Kornegay	2010-11	Texas	TAMU ’71	EB(VC)
Larry Corry	2009-10	Georgia	UGA ’66	EB(CH), HOD
James Cook	2008-09	Kentucky	AUB ’76	EB(VC), HOD
Greg Hammer	2007-08	Delaware	KSU ’73	EB(VC), HOD
Roger Mahr	2006-07	Illinois	ISU ’71	EB(CH)
Henry Childers	2005-06	Rhode Island	AUB ’54	EB
Bonnie Beaver	2004-05	Texas	MINN ’68	EB(CH)8
Jack Walther	2003-04	Nevada	UCD ’63	VP, HOD
Joe Howell	2002-03	Oklahoma	OKL ’72	EB(CH)9
James Brandt	2001-02	Florida	OKL ’64	EB(CH)10, HOD
James Nave	2000-01	Nevada	UMO ’68	EB(CH), HOD

AVMA Presidents from 2000-01 to 2014-15, including their college and year of DVM graduation. Under AVMA leadership experience, I restricted those responsibilities cited to Executive Board (EB) including Chair (CH) and Vice Chair (VC), Vice President (VP), House of Delegates (HOD), and Council on Education (COE).

(Table prepared by the author, 2014)11

Though many of our presidents-elect are selected without a challenger, we will once again this year have a contested election for the person to serve as president in 2015-16. The two candidates are Dr. Larry Dee (Florida) and Dr. Joe Kinnarney (North Carolina).12

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

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1 The president-elect and also the vice president will be selected by the House of Delegates immediately preceding the AVMA annual convention in Denver on July 25, 2014.
2 Dr. Henry Childers, president 2005-06, was appointed as assistant clinical professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, however his primary professional focus was clinical practice.
3 Smith, Donald F. The Changing Face of AVMA Presidents Through the Years. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine. May 21, 2013.
4 Harvard and Yale. Justice Ginsberg is a graduate of Columbia Law School. Six of the current nine justices also have undergraduate degrees from Ivy League universities.
5 Presidents Obama and Clinton.
6 More recently (2010), Dr. Rene Carlson, who had served as vice president, was elected to president-elect.
7 EB = Executive Board; CH = Chair; VC = Vice chair; HOD = House of Delegates; COE = Council on Education.
8 During the same meeting in which Dr. Beaver was elected chair of the Executive Board in a contested race, another woman, Dr. Joan Samuels, was elected vice-chair. That race was uncontested.
9 Dr. Howell became chair of the Executive Board following his presidency.
10 Dr. Brandt also became chair of the Executive Board following his presidency.
11 The author acknowledges the assistance of several former AVMA presidents in preparation of this table.
12 Smith, Donald F. AVMA Presidential Candidates Discuss Governance, Future Scope of the Profession, and Advocacy. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, July 7, 2014.