Demographic shift: Women DVMs top charts

Washington-

Veterinarians top the list of 10 occupations where women's involvementhas increased most in the past decade, according to a new analysis by theEmployment Policy Foundation (EPF).

The study shows female veterinarians have increased from less than 2percent in 1989 to 43 percent now.

Other female-influenced occupations include public administrators, mathand science teachers (six times the number in the early '90s), dentists,car salespeople, chemistry teachers and members of the clergy.

Women aged 25 to 35 who work full-time in the veterinary as well as otherleading female occupations now earn the same, or slightly higher, as menin those fields, regardless of motherhood status, hours worked or otherfactors, according to the 2000 Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The EPF analysis indicates that women in the 25-35 bracket, on average,earn about $823 per week in these occupations, while their male counterpartsearned about $813 per week.

In older age brackets, such as the 35-44 age group, women earn about80 percent of what men earned. However, the discrepancy can be accountedfor by the number of hours women work (which averages five hours less thanmen), according to the EPF.

Today, women account for 46 percent of the U.S. workforce, the EPF states.