Ethos Veterinary Health Celebrates Women’s History Month
March 8, 2022Highlighting Women in Veterinary Medicine
WOBURN, MA – March 8, 2022: Ethos Veterinary Health is celebrating Women’s History Month to highlight the incredible women who faced immense adversity and pushed boundaries to gain positions and respect in the field of veterinary medicine. Overall, women account for only 28% of the science and engineering workforce, and Ethos is proud that veterinary medicine is a STEM area where women are well represented. Ethos’ own work force is comprised of 75% to 85% women at any given time, and we are committed to providing women opportunities to advance to high levels of success in our company.
Historically and currently, women face many challenges when attempting to further their career. Women are typically paid less than men for the same work, women aren’t provided the same educational and development opportunities as men, women must perform at higher levels to gain equal acceptance, and fewer female role models are in leadership positions who can inspire women looking to advance their careers.
Meredith Caggiano, Ethos Chief Financial Officer, said, “Early on in my career, I realized I had to work harder, smarter, and faster to achieve the same goals. I felt I had to prove myself to show that I deserved a seat at the table.”
Holly Firestine, Ethos Chief People Officer, who encountered similar struggles during her career, said, “In the last 10 years, there has been more awareness and more action. Awareness is great, but without action, you aren’t going to see any headway. It starts with an intentional effort to see people. Ethos looks for the right opportunity to create a value proposition that really speaks to women, providing the right environment for inclusivity for women. Not only are women’s voices heard at Ethos, but they are paid equally, considered equally, and have the same development opportunities, creating a path to a better career, agnostic to gender.”
Having strong women leaders in veterinary medicine is important to ensure all voices are represented, because this strengthens the field. Young women entering the field today are more confident and more likely to promote themselves, which is important for progress to continue in this area.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Women have fewer role models at the highest levels, making it difficult for them to get inspired and feel like those roles are attainable. Mentoring and coaching are an important aspect to shape the future of women in work, and we need more women to get involved, to help young women achieve the goals they’ve always hoped and dreamed they could, ” Firestine said.
Caggiano added, “Celebrating Women’s History month is so important, because the second you stop realizing where you were, you stop making progress moving forward. While it’s important to celebrate wins we’ve had, we can’t forget where we were not all that long ago, because if we lose sight of that, we backtrack. It’s important to call out and recognize all of the progress that has been made but to remember where we started, because that highlights how much more progress we can still make.”
To help promote women mentorship, Ethos is forming a leadership group for women in leadership roles, and for those who want to become leaders. Ethos will use the data available and take actionable steps, to ensure women continue to push boundaries and succeed to advanced positions.