Leadership confidence levels were boosted in just six hours for delegates of the inaugural Veterinary Women in Leadership event. The well attended event, run jointly by XLVets and Veterinary Woman, saw high levels of engagement from delegates, including women and men from across the veterinary profession and animal health industry. Discussions on next steps to facilitate women’s leadership development highlighted several key areas where the profession can do more to support career progression. Outcomes include future events and the building a leadership support network.

Polls conducted at the start and conclusion of the six-hour virtual conference showed the delegates’ confidence in being a leader increase from an average of 6.3 to 7.9 out of 10. The content which inspired the boost in confidence included sessions on assertive communication with Carolyne Crowe, and how HR strategy can support leadership development by former HR Director at John Lewis, Laura Whyte.

The event, which achieved an overall rating of 4.9 out of 5 from attendees, also featured 15 role model stories from key inspirational figures, including past-presidents of veterinary organisations, business owners, leaders within industry and practice and referral hospital founders.

The day concluded with breakout sessions for delegates to discuss how to facilitate more women on their leadership journeys. Kerrie Hedley, COO of XLVets, said “We were blown away by the level of engagement and interaction from delegates. This is clearly a conversation the profession is ready to have, and this event provides a great springboard to accelerate positive change. We want to engage with multiple stakeholders to build on these foundations.”

Feedback from delegates included:

“This was unlike any event I have attended in the past, I thought it was a brilliant afternoon. Thank you for including an industry perspective!”

“Before the event I was lacking role models. All the speakers have fully inspired me to have a ‘can do’ attitude.”

Tickets for the event will be available for anyone wishing to watch the event back until the end of October. After this the content will be available as individual pay per click sessions. Visit the event website for more details: https://bit.ly/VeterinaryWomenInLeadership.

A follow up event is planned for spring 2021; to register interest and receive early bird offers sign up to the Veterinary Woman email list via the website. Individuals interested in engaging with the leadership conversation are encouraged to join the Veterinary Women in Leadership closed Facebook group.

The organisers would like to thank all the sponsors for making the event possible, including headline sponsors Elanco, Krka, PetsApp and Purina.