The Diversity Climate at Institutions of Veterinary Education: Employee

Perspectives Suzie J. Kovacs Phillip D. Nelson

Survey Development

• Developed an environmental scan regarding diversity perspectives in the workplace.

• Piloted at the Penn Executive Veterinary Leadership Program spring 2010

• Adapted for CVM/SVM employees (administrators, faculty, and staff)

• Proposed nationwide distribution at Iverson Bell March 2011

• Supported by and distributed through AAVMC • Data collected June 2011 to September 2011

Survey Items

• 26 questions • Attitudes and Opinions

– Diversity in the workplace – Diversity in the veterinary profession

• Behaviors and Experiences – Discrimination and privilege – Language heard on campus

• Demographic data

Quantitative and Qualitative data

Who Participated?

Response rate from Admin and Faculty = 25% (N=928/3735)

Administrator 6.2 %

Faculty 35.5%

Staff 55.2%

Other 3%

N=2227

Gender of Respondents

Female 68.4%

Male 31.1%

Transgendered 0.1%

Other 0.4%

Race of Respondents

0102030405060708090

100

2.2% 4.1% 0.2%

83.7%

2.6% 1.6% 8.4%

% o

f res

pond

ents

Age of Respondents

Gen Y - Ages 18

to 29 (9%)

Gen X - Ages 30 to 49 (47%)

Boomer - Ages 50 to 69 (43%)

Silent - Ages 70+ (1%)

How do you define diversity?

“Diversity refers to differences among people with respect to race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental/physical ability, religion, job level, personality traits, education, health, stature, culture, language, and other human differences.”

NAVMEC

Definition of Diversity

I believe that diversity is important and should be considered in workplace policies.

• Strongly Agree • Agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly Disagree

I believe that diversity is important and should be considered in workplace policies.

3.6% 4.3%

20.1%

44.4%

27.6%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

StronglyDisagree

Disagree Neutral Agree StronglyAgree

% o

f res

pond

ents

I believe that diversity is important and should be considered in workplace policies.

Strongly Agree / Agree

• “Hybrid Vigor” - Diversity strengthens an organization • Equality and equal opportunity • Provides role models for students • Reflection of society (ie. clientele) • Promotes tolerance • Reduces discrimination • Results in improved education

I believe that diversity is important and should be considered in workplace policies.

Disagree / Strongly Disagree

• Meritocracy is best • Diversity should/will happen “naturally”

and should not be mandated • Politically correct concept • Lowers (perception of) quality • People are different, not equal • Poorly defined (subjective) concept

I believe there is a greater need for diversity in the veterinary profession.

Strongly Disagree

2% Disagree

9%

Neutral 32% Agree

39%

Strongly Agree 18%

I believe that diversity issues are of little concern when it comes to science and veterinary medicine.

Strongly Disagree

20%

Disagree 40%

Neutral 20%

Agree 15%

Strongly Agree

5%

0102030405060708090

NeverRarelyOccasionallyFrequently

How often do you hear racist remarks in your workplace? %

of r

espo

nden

ts

0102030405060708090

NeverRarelyOccasionallyFrequently

How often do you hear homophobic remarks in your workplace?

% o

f res

pond

ents

0102030405060708090

NeverRarelyOccasionallyFrequently

How often do you hear sexist remarks in your workplace? %

of r

espo

nden

ts

“I assume the reasons I replied “never” to hearing racist or homophobic comments relate to the fact that 1) there aren’t many such people around to trigger comments and 2) since I don’t fall in those categories I am probably oblivious to a lot of the negativity that is expressed around those issues.”

“Females in the workplace often feel free to denigrate males “jokingly”, whereas a male making a similar comment to a female would be ostracized.”

Overall, do you believe that there is adequate gender representation on the faculty at your CVM?

77% YES

23% NO

Females 67% Males 33%

Females 75% Males 25%

0

10

20

30

40

50

Have you ever felt negatively discriminated against based on the following characteristics?

% o

f res

pond

ents

31.7%

20.0% 12.6%

Y 15% X 42% B 42% S 1%

Minority 49% White 51%

F 86% M 13%

“Other” reasons why people felt negatively discriminated against

• Level of education • Job ranking (eg. staff vs. faculty) • Marital status • Having/not having children • Appearance (eg. weight, height) • Political views

Have you ever felt privileged based on the following characteristics?

0

10

20

30

40

50

% o

f res

pond

ents

15.8% 21.8%

12.6%

F 54% M 45%

Minority 13% White 87%

“Other” reasons why people felt privileged

• Appearance (eg. attractiveness) • Level of education • Country of origin

25.2%

45.5%

29.2%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No I don't know

Have you ever felt that the CVM has been overly sensitive and/or accommodating for underrepresented groups?

21.9% 57.6% 20.5%

% o

f res

pond

ents

Employee Voices

“Diversity has been pushed so much that I now think white men are discriminated against – as it seems if a white man has the same or better qualifications as a gay female – then the climate has become – give the position to the gay female. It seems we don’t give the position to the most qualified – we give it to the one who makes us look diverse and that will prevent lawsuits.”

Employee Voices

“Interesting thought came into my mind as I completed the last section. I wondered now that you know that I am a white, middle-aged, married, heterosexual male, if all my responses will now be ignored. I doubt if I would’ve had that thought ten years ago, but I sure do now.”

“Diversity issues are simply not discussed in the CVM. Recently the students took the initiative to create a club that addresses cultural differences. I think we do our students a great disservice by not having [sic] open discussions preparing them for the diversity of clientel [sic] that will walk in their door.”

Employee Voices

Employee Voices

“I trust this survey will reveal to AVMA that all is not well when it comes to promoting diversity in the veterinary profession. Saying one thing with lip service does not necessarily translate into making persons from “different” circumstances feel COMFORTABLE in the profession. While the environment has changed significantly … under-represented minorities still face numerous challenges associated with stereotyping and indifference.”

“A ridiculous, but politically correct waste of faculty/staff time and money. Time and money would be far better spent developing ways to capture more veterinarians into graduate programs. This is what the CVM should be about, not wasting time on the latest test of political correctness and intolerance for diversity of opinion.” “Glad you are looking at this. It has been an elephant in the room for veterinary medicine. People in a majority are so unaware of the privileges we have.”

“I am suspicious of the motives for this survey.”

How would you describe your workplace with respect to diversity?

Having little to no diversity

13%

Moderately diverse

60%

Having a high level

of diversity 27%

How do you define diversity?

Take-home Messages

• Diversity issues are complex • Definitions of diversity vary and incorporate

factors beyond customary characteristics (ie. race and gender)

• The gender shift within the profession is a major concern

• Tensions were revealed with regard to the perceived need for diversity vs. formal diversity initiatives in the workplace.

• Diversity “fatigue” exists

Study Limitations

• Respondent bias • Homogeneous sample • Ambiguous terminology

What Next?

• Distribute institution-specific data reports • Continue analysis • Compare to AAVMC Student Climate Survey • Publish data • Refine instrument • Continue to monitor CVM/SVM climate

Acknowledgments

• AAVMC • Lisa Greenhill and Paige Carmichael • All Participating Institutions

Thank you!

Suzie Kovacs skovacs@westernu.edu Phillip Nelson pnelson@westernu.edu