DEI SPOTLIGHT
trainers . They also overwhelmingly reported feeling comfortable in the spaces where they trained dogs . The differences in responses that did appear between the groups primarily fell into two areas : access to professional education opportunities and experiences in situations with their professional peers .
TRAINERS OF COLOR REPORTED MORE DIFFICULTIES ACCESSING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Respondents were asked whether certain aspects of being a professional dog trainer , such as being able to support oneself or locate continuing education opportunities , were “ extremely easy ,” “ easy ,” “ neither challenging nor easy ,” “ challenging ,” or “ extremely challenging .” These sub-questions revealed that trainers of color were about twice as likely to report difficulties locating professional education opportunities and over 20 % more likely to experience challenges in being able to afford educational opportunities in the field ( see figures 3 and 4 ).
TRAINERS OF COLOR REPORTED LACK OF REPRESENTATION AND INCREASED SOCIAL DISCOMFORT IN PROFESSIONAL SETTINGS The questionnaire responses also revealed some differences in the experiences of white trainers and trainers of color in professional situations . For example , respondents of color were five times more likely than their white peers to report having had their role misidentified at conferences ( mistaken for being waitstaff , for example ). Similarly , trainers of color were more than 3 times as likely as their white colleagues to report that people felt surprised when they performed well as trainers ( figure 5 ).
Figure 5 : Respondents of color were three times as likely to agree with the statement ” People seem surprised when I perform well as a trainer .”
Figure 3 : Respondents of color were about twice as likely to find it challenging to locate professional education
Figure 3 : Respondents of color were about twice as likely to find it challenging to locate professional education opportunities
Respondents who identified as people of color also reported feelings of lack of representation : they were seven times as likely as their white colleagues to answer that they often felt like the only one who looked like them at conferences and 20 times as likely to feel as though they were seen as a representative of a racial or ethnic group ( figures 6 and 7 ).
Figure 4 : Respondents of color were upwards of 20 % more likely to find it difficult to afford continuing education ( conferences , academic programs , seminars , workshops , etc .)
Although responses indicated that trainers of color faced an increased difficulty accessing educational opportunities , very few of them reported having ever taken advantage of scholarships meant to level the playing field for people from underrepresented groups . When asked whether they had “ ever applied for a grant of scholarship for a conference , training academy , or other educational activity related to animal training ” based on their identification as Black , Indigenous , or otherwise of Color ( BIPOC ), 92 % of respondents of color responded that they had not . Commenters falling under the BIPOC designation unanimously stated that they were unaware of the existence of such grants and scholarships .
Figure 6 : Respondents of color were about seven times as likely to agree with the statement “ I oftentimes feel like the only one who looks like me at APDT conferences .”
Figure 7 : Respondents of color were 20 times more likely to agree with the statement ” People see me as a representative for a racial or ethnic group .”
18 Building Better Trainers Through Education