I think there’s definite issue and zoos traditionally have been a good old boys clubs situation. And I’ve had keepers, female keepers come back from a conference where some hot shot elephant person said, “You don’t know anything about elephants, go back and get some dry behind the ears before you speak out in a meeting.” And I think that good old boy mentality needs to be done away with. In terms of veterinary medicine, women are just as capable as men. I do think however, that zoos need to take cognizant of the fact that allowances have to be made for family situations. And even veterinarians complain that, you know, they wanna stop to have children, or they want a part-time work and this sort of thing, and having a family is an important part of the life. And I’m very much not in favor of being so devoted to veterinary medicine or to the zoo that you don’t have a balance in your life is wrong. I think people need to be able to have time for recreation. They need to have time for going to the theater, be involved in church activities and these sorts of things that give them a broader approach to life and actually helps to improve their ability to deal with people’s skills and these sorts of things.
