May 21, 2012

Men are turning to jobs in fields long dominated by women.

The NYT reports:
[T]he trend has spread among men of nearly all races and ages, more than a third of whom have a college degree. In fact, the shift is most pronounced among young, white, college-educated men...

To the extent that the shift to “women’s work” has been accelerated by recession, the change may reverse when the economy recovers. “Are boys today saying, ‘I want to grow up and be a nurse?’ ” asked Heather Boushey, senior economist at the Center for American Progress. “Or are they saying, ‘I want a job that’s stable and recession proof?’ ” 

In interviews, however, about two dozen men played down the economic considerations, saying that the stigma associated with choosing such jobs had faded, and that the jobs were appealing not just because they offered stable employment, but because they were more satisfying....

Several men cited the same reasons for seeking out pink-collar work that have drawn women to such careers: less stress and more time at home. At John G. Osborne Elementary, Adrian Ortiz, 42, joked that he was one of the few Mexicans who made more in his native country, where he was a hard-working lawyer, than he did in the United States as a kindergarten teacher in a bilingual classroom. “Now,” he said, “my priorities are family, 100 percent.”

32 comments:

Jason (the commenter) said...

A boy can do anything a girl can do!

KCFleming said...

"...a desolate job market, one in which the traditional opportunities, like construction and manufacturing, for young men without a college degree had dried up"

MadisonMan said...

If more men go into elementary school teaching, that will be a good thing for boys.

Of course, they'll have to get credentialed because the Union says so.

edutcher said...

Given that once was the Man-cession has gone all equal no pay for equal no work, it may be more of a pipe dream than reality

Phil 314 said...

Definitely seeing more male nurses.

campy said...

If more men go into elementary school teaching, that will be a good thing for boys.

Until the men get driven out by sexual abuse scandals.

The Drill SGT said...

Phil 3:14 said...
Definitely seeing more male nurses.


I'd be interested to know if returning vets are leading that change...

ndspinelli said...

My future son-in-law is an RN. They are now called Murses.

ndspinelli said...

Phil, You're absolutely correct.

campy, that is an issue but can be dealt w/ by good background checks and monitoring.

William said...

I haven't had many bookings as a lngerie model, but I keep plugging away.

rhhardin said...

The NYT reports

It's an article for women.

holdfast said...

I have a buddy who originally wanted to be a doctor, but he just didn't have the academic chops to do it, so he became a trauma nurse and loves his job. And why not - nurses (or at least some nurses) are highly skilled medical professionals, and it also doesn't hurt to have a strong back on the ward as well.

ken in tx said...

Teaching is more stressful than anything I have ever done. It's not the students, it's the parents. They are totally nuts. I told one father that I would be his son's teacher for only a few more weeks, but he would be his father for the rest of his life and would be sorry for it.

Michael K said...

Male nurses with degrees are doing very well, especially with administration. Many female nurses would rather work for a man. Although in this area, we get quite a few gay male nurses (Laguna Beach) and they are NOT easy for women to work with or for.

Michael K said...

"
If more men go into elementary school teaching, that will be a good thing for boys."

I would no more go into elementary school, or middle school teaching, than fly. If so get a lawyer on retainer. We have had multiple incidents of accusations of sexual harassment. Some of the girls (middle school age) have even admitted making false accusations out of spite. One male teacher made them dress for gym. It took him two years to get his life back.

It's a shame because my daughter's favorite teacher in 8th grade was male (private school). He took a lower salary to teach in private school. His wife was also a teacher there.

test said...

So are these guys thinking like women or are only childrens' thoughts defined in such ways?

Rick Lee said...

I know lots of guys that have or are planning to go to nursing school. It's good pay and you can work three 12 hour shifts and get 4 days off. When that trickle turns into a flood, I guess the nursing shortage will finally end.

Anonymous said...

Michael K, I'm curious as to what made you come to the conclusion that many female nurses would rather work for a male? In my 30 plus years as a nurse, it didn't matter what gender the DON or administrator was, as long as they were fair minded and not neurotic.

Anonymous said...

Rick Lee, I worked the Baylor Program and it's terrific. Getting ones work done usually takes longer than 8 hours anyway and getting the 4 days off is essential to de-stress.

ricpic said...

William said...

I haven't had many bookings as a lingerie model, but I keep plugging away.

The legs, Billy, shave the legs!

Blue@9 said...

I'm curious as to what made you come to the conclusion that many female nurses would rather work for a male?

I have seen this claim made anecdotally quite a bit, not just for nurses but for a number of professions. Who knows if one can make a general claim here, seeing that a lot of people gripe about their bosses. A woman boss just seems to introduce another reason to hate on the management.

MadisonMan said...

I would no more go into elementary school, or middle school teaching, than fly

Never be alone with a student. Keep records of everything you do.

An ounce of prevention, etc.

Darleen said...

My eldest daughter is an ICU RN. When we went to her pinning ceremony (four years ago) about 25% of her class were men.

Michael K said...

"Michael K, I'm curious as to what made you come to the conclusion that many female nurses would rather work for a male?"

Mostly anecdotes, partly from my wife. Women doctors are also not as popular with nurses. That may be changing as the years go by. I'm an older model.

Eric said...

Teaching is more stressful than anything I have ever done. It's not the students, it's the parents. They are totally nuts. I told one father that I would be his son's teacher for only a few more weeks, but he would be his father for the rest of his life and would be sorry for it.

Hah! Eh... I'm beginning to see why this may be stressful for you.

Anonymous said...

I get a bit peeved with women who complain about working for or with another women, I've seen enough male nurses that are every bit as difficult to work with as any female. It's just personalit, IMO, and nursing is extremely stressful at times.

My husband was a Pediatrician, he never seemed overly stressed, but that may have just been him and had nothing to do with gender.

rcommal said...

What I kinda wanna do is call bullshit.

Jason (the commenter) said...

rcommal: What I kinda wanna do is call bullshit.

It's hard for men to find jobs in their traditional fields of employment, so they go to where the jobs are. That's what men do; they're very competitive. In a few years expect to hear people complaining about how men have all the top jobs in nursing and teaching.

Peter said...

Jobs with good job security (can't be offshored) and modest barriers to entry are attractive to men? Wutta surprise.

Re: male nurses- when it's time to turn or lift that 300-plus pounder. male upper body strength is what you want.

Nathan Alexander said...

In my 30 plus years as a nurse, it didn't matter what gender the DON or administrator was, as long as they were fair minded and not neurotic.

I get a bit peeved with women who complain about working for or with another women, I've seen enough male nurses that are every bit as difficult to work with as any female. It's just personalit, IMO, and nursing is extremely stressful at times.

My husband was a Pediatrician, he never seemed overly stressed, but that may have just been him and had nothing to do with gender.


When the evidence contradicts your preferred worldview, it can always be dismissed as exceptions. Nice job!

raf said...

I expect the NLRB or someone to come up with an official "traditionally female profession" category which must be preserved for cultural diversity reasons. Men entering these professions would be subject to severe scrutiny because they probably have the wrong motivation.

Methadras said...

The consequences of institutionalized misandry continues.