Meet Diane Ledder:
Curator and Zoologist for the
San Diego Wild Animal Park
Wisdom

Sara: What kind of advice or encouragement would you like to give the girls back at the clubhouse?

Diane: Work is fun. If work isn't fun, then you probably aren't doing the right thing. That's one thing I would encourage girls exploring careers... do anything you want, but do something you enjoy. I love working with the people here, I love working with the animals in this environment, I love the variety. So work is fun. Being at home spending time with my animals is fun.

I think knowledge is a very powerful thing. So the more we study and the more we learn about the environment and the ways in which we can coexist with it, the better off we'll all be. And we need more women scientists, that's for sure. And zoologists. Now is a very exciting time to be studying the environment and studying animals and conservation. It's a critical time -- it's more critical than ever. We need more people involved. We need more good people and talented people from different backgrounds and different perspectives.

I would encourage girls to do what they enjoy, to pursue whatever it is that interests them, be it science or anything else. Have fun doing it. Follow [what you love]. Volunteer. Join clubs, zoological societies, World Wildlife [Federation], Conservation International. Get involved on the local level and study. Learn through those organizations and through more formal classes at the zoo or camp or at a museum.

Talk to people whose careers interested you. Go to work with Mom or Dad. Get as much exposure as you can. See if [what they're doing] is a lifestyle or a career you'd be interested in. I don't think you have to worry about making up your mind right away. I didn't. I tried a lot of different things. They were all animal-oriented, but I did a lot of different things before ending up in this position, and I'll probably do other things when I move on to my next job in my career.

Sara: Have you ever run into prejudice against women? What did you do to solve the problem?

Diane: That's a good question. I think more often than not it's unintentional. People just don't realize -- they're used to doing things in the same old way or working with the same people, so they don't realize they're being prejudiced against women. And sometimes it's just a question of trying to tactfully make them aware that they're doing that.

I think [prejudice] is a reality that women have to deal with. In some cases it's just a little bit harder -- we have to be a little bit better. We seem to have to prove ourselves sometimes. But that's not beyond us. We can do that. And I think women are really good at doing lots of different things at once. I look at some of my male friends -- they seem to be very focused on one thing all the time. But I think women are real good at handling a bunch of different things at one time. I think we have an advantage in that respect.

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