Community & Business
21 March, 2025
Vets rank high as workplace for women
A LOCAL veterinary facility has been named one of Australia’s 30 Best Workplaces for Women by Great Place to Work® Australia.
The only veterinary business listed, and one of only three regional employers named, Tablelands Veterinary Services (TVS, joined an impressive group of winners across the country including Adobe, 4 Pines Brewing Company, Allianz, Cisco, Hilton, Mattel, Queensland Country Bank, and Specsavers.
The list is compiled by Great Place To Work, a global company specialises in measuring and offering certification on the quality of life at work. To qualify, organisations must have at least 50 female employees.
TVS has eight clinics across regional and rural Far North Queensland and were first established on the Atherton Tablelands in 1977.
With 88% of its workforce identifying as female, including 74% of its vets and 72% of its leadership team, TVS has actively worked to reshape the traditionally demanding veterinary career model.
“Our profession has well-documented challenges with recruitment and retention, especially in rural and regional areas,” TVS general manager Jason Chuck said.
“For the last five years, we’ve focused on proving that veterinary careers can be both rewarding and sustainable - particularly for those balancing careers with parenting or caring responsibilities.”
Flexible work schedules, a four-day work week for full-time staff, and an innovative, transparent pay system designed to prevent gender bias are among the initiatives that have helped TVS build a more equitable and supportive workplace.
Veterinary careers in rural and regional areas have traditionally been shaped by long hours, after-hours demands, and rigid rostering creating barriers that have often disproportionately affected women.
“At TVS, we’ve made a conscious effort to challenge those old ways of working,” RVS director and vet, Dr Stephanie Williams, said.
“We’ve increased support staff ratios, invested in training and mentoring, and developed operating systems that reduce the burden of after-hours work.
“These changes don’t just benefit women, they create a better, more sustainable workplace for everyone.”
“This recognition is incredibly important, not just for TVS, but for our industry.
“We hope it inspires more veterinary workplaces to listen to their teams, make meaningful changes, and create careers that keep people passionate about this incredible profession.”
