The demand for healthcare is growing rapidly because the population ages, medical treatments grow to be more available and more people suffer from chronic and complicated diseases.
However, there may be a worldwide one shortages of health care employees – and the pandemic has only highlighted this trend. Overwork, burnout, and stress are why nurses do that leave en masse.
World Health ORganisation estimates by 2030 we are going to need one other 9 million nurses worldwide. According to the International Council of Nurses, the number is closer 13 million.
Part of the answer is recruiting and retaining more men in nursing. This would help address labor shortages and will reduce the gender pay gap within the industry over time because the presence of men in nursing normalizes.
And as jobs in traditionally male-centric industries – reminiscent of mining and manufacturing – dry up, health care jobs must be replaced attractive option for men, providing job security, profession opportunities and remuneration.
However, attracting men to the occupation won’t be without challenges. This would require a serious, society-wide rethinking of gender roles, pay and recognition of the importance of nursing work.
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Why achieve this few men work in nursing?
There is care feminized in society and health care, and the nursing occupation has strong female roots. This established a trajectory and culture that maintains the lads’s national team around 10% in lots of high-income countries.
This is despite the passionate efforts of many within the industry to realize this goal equal gender representation seen in most professions.
The reasons are complex and multifaceted. Men working in nursing are sometimes portrayed negatively media and movies. Stereotypes abound.
And several men with the face of a nurse discrimination from patients and staff, based on false assumptions that girls are higher suited to this role. Many people still do downplay men’s ability to undertake personal care tasks.
Tests also shows that the low male participation could also be as a consequence of the reluctance of profession counselors to recommend nursing as a profession path.
A recent Australian report shows that the predominance of ladies within the nursing workforce may make it difficult for some men to think about nursing as a profession, especially those for whom masculinity is central to their identity. We subsequently need to alter the assumption that nursing is a women’s occupation – it shouldn’t be.
Negative perceptions of nursing’s prestige and perceived status in society may make it difficult for some men to grow to be thinking about a nursing profession.
Good role models are essential. Many educational institutions and supporters reminiscent of Johnson and Johnson they’re working hard on it at once positive images men in nursing and normalizing the proven fact that men will be great nurses too.
Keeping men within the labor market and solving the “glass escalator” problem
Many regulatory and skilled organizations monitor men’s participation in nursing. Some organizations offer incentives. For example, American Association of Men in Nursing offers scholarships, awards and training to draw and retain men within the occupation.
It is vital to acknowledge certain barriers for men that result from the nursing occupation itself.
Some nursing employees consider that men make careers “glass escalator“. Unlike the “glass ceiling” that hinders profession advancement, the “glass escalator” allows men to quickly advance to higher positions as a way to retain them.
This may cause some perceive men’s participation in nursing as a negative phenomenon, which reduces social inclusion.
But the glass escalator phenomenon that may occur in other industries can also only be overcome by normalizing men’s participation within the labor market.
It is critical to take a look at the gendered structural aspects that make it difficult for girls to tackle leadership roles.
It can be price noting that girls within the health and care sector face a wider gender pay gap than in other sectors of the economy. A joint report by the International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization stated:
Women in health and care face a wider gender pay gap than in other sectors of the economy, earning on average 24% lower than their male peers […] Within countries, the gender pay gap tends to be larger in higher-earning categories where men are overrepresented. Women are overrepresented in lower-wage categories.
Although this difference can’t be easily explained, it reflects the worth that society places on care. If women are overrepresented in lower-wage categories (which are likely to focus more on personal care tasks), it suggests that society places low value on caregiving tasks, and the overrepresentation of female caregivers helps further “feminize” care.
It is extremely likely that these aspects discourage men and boys from entering nursing and taking over caring roles on this occupation.
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Time for motion
We urgently need more men in nursing.
Not only does this make sense from a health care perspective, because it creates opportunities to attach with men, nevertheless it also is sensible from a perspective of our society and economic productivity. Investments in education and job creation within the health sector and society could improve health outcomes, enhance global health security and boost inclusive economic growth.
Perhaps most significantly, robust health systems must be representative of the populations they serve. The workforce in any industry have to be chosen from quite a lot of perspectives, including gender and culture.
