Introduction to problem statement and hypothesis development in business research

Bitches: What Animal Shelters Can Do to Reduce the Gender Gap in Volunteerism

Animal shelters depend on volunteers for everything from fundraising to day-to-day operations. There is no federal agency devoted to animal rescue, placing the burden on small independent community organizations. Understanding how to recruit and retain volunteers therefore becomes a critical component in the success of individual shelters and animal shelters in general. Companion animals like dogs remain popular in the United States, with between one third and one half of all households in America owning a dog; between 70 and 80 million dogs are pets (ASPCA, 2016). Given the affection Americans have for their companion animals, it would seem that volunteering at local animal shelters or taking part in foster care services would be relatively commonplace. Yet the "overwhelming presence of women in the recent world of dog rescue" has highlighted a significant gender gap in animal rescue volunteerism (Markovitz & Queen, 2009, p. 327). Animal shelters seem to be missing out on the opportunity to recruit and retain more male volunteer staff. The implications of the gender gap are tremendous, because animal rescue organizations frequently operate in spite of being overburdened, understaffed, and underfunded.

There are few studies that address the overwhelming presence of women in the world of dog rescue. Possible reasons for the gender gap are related to gender differences in attitudes towards animals, towards animal rescue operations, and towards animal rights philosophies. The gender gap in animal shelter volunteerism may be linked to a broader pattern of gender differences in other volunteer sectors. Yet there may be specific issues related to the nature of animal welfare work that attract more women than men. For example, Davis (2013) points out that animal shelters present "emotional situations that are not found in other volunteer capacities," and women may be generally more willing to endure the specific stressors of shelter work like euthanasia (p. 1). Other possible reasons are more linked to human resources theories, such as issues related to recruitment and retention of employees through appropriate incentives. Gender role theories and gender norms may also be related to the significant gender gap in animal volunteerism. For example, women may encourage other women to volunteer in general as a means of socializing, more than men. Alternatively, women have been historically disempowered and disenfranchised politically and financially, and volunteerism may be one of the ways women have systematically reclaimed their power.

This research aims to explain why women tend to volunteer more at shelters and in other animal rescue capacities, compared to men. The reasons are likely to be complex, irreducible to just one or two variables. Regardless of the multifaceted nature of the problem, this research should shed some light on how animal rescue organizations, and dog rescue organizations in particular, can improve their outcomes in terms of reducing the number of intakes and euthanized animals. Moreover, this research highlights some of the factors that motivate women to volunteer at animal shelters, with the ultimate goal of helping shelters improve their appeal to all animal lovers regardless of gender. Ideally, all Americans will be motivated to offer some of their free time to promote the interests of companion animals, promote spay and neutering programs, reduce the number of unnecessary breeders, promote the adoption of strays, and improve animal welfare.

Historically, women have been involved in animal rights activism. In the 19th century, for example, antivivisection societies were almost exclusively female (Markovitz & Queen, 2009). Since animal rights have become a political issue throughout the 20th century, women have remained on the frontlines of volunteerism and also in professional animal welfare. For example, trends in veterinary care reveal a striking gender gap with more than 70% of veterinary school graduates being female in 2002 (Markovitz & Queen, 2009). The presence of women in animal rights and animal welfare reflects an overarching trend towards women in positions of altruism and political activism related to welfare and ethics.

Although it is tempting to link together the related issues of animal rescue with animal rights activism, Greenbaum (2009) points out that rescue volunteers often pointedly and vocally distance themselves from the political activism inherent in the animal rights movements. Represented by radical animal rights groups like PETA, the animal rights movement is political in nature, advocating for the ethical treatment of animals and against the exploitation of animals in the form of meat eating, drug testing, or the leather industries. On the other hand, animal rescue volunteerism can distance itself from politics, by focusing narrowly on the interests of rescuing animals from cruel and abusive situations or promoting community spay and neutering programs. If animal shelters want to recruit more volunteers from both genders, it might be important to examine the political motivations of existing volunteers and match those motivations to shelter mission statements.

There are few Americans who would not support animal rescue work, and yet the "disproportionately female" world of animal rescue volunteerism suggests that an insufficient number of men are motivated to provide the much-needed help animal rescue shelters need (Markovitz & Queen, 2009, p. 327). In other words, the gender differences may be due more to male identities and gender roles and norms than to female ones. The position set forth by Markovitz & Queen (2009) is based on the hypothesis that women are more involved with animal rescue because they are also more involved in "many struggles concerning rights," and that women's role in animal shelters specifically reflects an active attempt to create more compassionate communities (p. 327). Women who volunteer may also be doing so to fulfill gender roles related to their perceived or presumed "maternal nature" or nurturing stereotype (Petrzelka & Mannon, 2006, p. 236). Without these gendered frameworks, men would theoretically lack the social pressure to perform altruistic activities like volunteering. In fact, research shows that it is not gender so much as prior volunteering experience that motivates future volunteer work (Stroup, Dodson, Elias & Gewirtzman, 2015). Animal shelters and animal welfare organizations can attract new volunteers by recruiting from schools, to show young people the rewards of the work and thereby create a more egalitarian volunteer workforce.

This research will build on two central hypotheses:

H1: Women are more likely than men to fill their free time with volunteer work.

H2: Women are more emotionally affected by their volunteer role than men, which in turn causes women to devote more of their time to future volunteer work.

The first hypothesis, that women are more likely than men to fill their free time with volunteer work, can be borne out by research and can be readily quantified. Furthermore, this hypothesis reflects Taniguchi's (2006) work showing that indeed women are more likely than men to devote free time to volunteer work. This is true not only for animal shelter volunteerism, but to volunteerism in other sectors such as senior care. Given the research will reveal a significant gender difference in free time devoted to volunteerisms, then animal shelters need to promote their activities more to retired males and men who are unemployed or work part time.

The second hypothesis, that women are more emotionally affected by their prior volunteer work than men are, is also substantiated by prior literature. Similarly, this hypothesis reflects the research by Stroup, Dodson, Elias & Gewirtzman (2015) showing that prior volunteer work that is rewarding motivates the volunteer to repeat their experience. Altruism begets more altruism, which is why animal shelters would then be advised to recruit children and young adults. Arguably, children instinctually enjoy the company of animals. Cultivating a child's innate sense of caring for pets through shelter work or at-home fostering of rescue animals may help volunteer-run animal welfare societies recruit part-time or full-time volunteers throughout their lifetime and retain those unpaid employees.

This research is important not just to illuminate gender differences; in fact, gender differences is secondary to the more primary significance of animal shelters and the work they do in promoting animal rights, reducing the suffering of animals, and raising awareness about how to improve human-animal relationships. According to the ASPCA (2016), there are currently more than 13,000 independent community animal shelters nationwide. Each year, over 7 million companion animals -- 3.9 million dogs and 3.4 million cats -- enter shelters. Of these, 1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats are euthanized each year. These numbers are staggering, highlighting the urgent need for improved outreach, fundraising, and community awareness building related to animal welfare.

If as research suggests, almost three-fourths of animal shelter volunteers are female, rescue organizations are missing out on a potentially vast number of human resources opportunities. Animal rescue organizations and the animals they serve cannot afford to miss the chance to recruit and retain valuable personnel. Recruiting and retaining males needs to become an integral part of animal shelter human resources strategies. This research is intended to show what those strategies might be, based in part on what works for the millions of women who work as volunteers in animal shelters.

References

ASPCA (2016). Shelter intake and surrender. Retrieved online: http://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics

Davis, R. (2013). Understanding volunteerism in an animal shelter environment. College of Professional Studies Professional Projects, Paper 54.

Greenbaum, J. (2009). "I'm not an activist!": Animal rights vs. animal welfare in the purebred dog rescue movement. Society and Animals 17(2009): 289-304.

Markovitz, A.S. & Queen, R. (2009). Women and the world of dog rescue. Society and Animals 17(2009): 325-342.

Petrzelka, P. & Mannon, S.E. (2006). Keepin' this little town going. Gender and Society 20(2): 236-258.

Stroup, J.T., Dodson, K., Elias, K. & Gewirtzman, A. (2015). A passion for service?

Taniguchi, H. (2006). Men's and women's volunteering. Nonprofit and Volunteer Sector Quarterly 35(1): 83-101.