Articles

Men in a social care career – how can we encourage this?

16/10/2017

Taking into consideration the amount or pressure on the care sector, it is time to set aside stereotypes of care workers, to support gender equality, and encourage more men in this sector.

UK hospitals are having to restrict admissions due to lack of staff, or worse, close permanently. At the same time, there are over 15,000 vacancies!

This gap is forecast to get worse by 2025, when it is estimated that 1 million more workers will be needed to take care of the aging population.

One solution to this problem is to employ more men to fill the shortages. The care sector is still dominated by women with 90% of all qualified midwives, nurses and health visitors being female.
It seems that men are put off by the stereotype of the job being ‘for women only’, and while it is true that more women do take care jobs than men, the gender based stigma is very hard to shake.

Darren Pitcher, registered nurse at Care UK, says that even when he was at school boys were sent down the path of plumbers and electricians, while girls were advised to be nurses or similar.

The reality, says Darren, is that this is now changing, and needs to be conveyed to everyone. The care industry has incredible opportunities available to nurses, while the levels of responsibility have changed. 

One of the main reasons for the lack of men in the industry is salary. Mr Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, says that care work is one of the most underpaid jobs in the country, and because most men are the main earners in the family, they simply cannot afford to work for so much less money. Care work just does not pay enough. With the health service already stretched to breaking point, it seems unlikely that this is going to change any time soon.

There are some areas where men may find opportunities in the care industry, such as critical care, military and mental health nursing, and research. The NHS is hosting a recruitment drive aimed at school leavers, and work experience students. They also plan to have mentorship programmes which involve student nurses.

Deputy Director of The Royal College of Nursing, Stephanie Aitken agrees that the level of awareness must be raised about the variety of roles which are available in the sector. 

Studies have shown that male patients respond very well to male nurses, and so it is important that there should be a male/female balance in the profession. This will provide the best quality care. 

Also important is retention in the industry, with men often leaving because of verbal forms of harassment they receive. These may be such things as comments like ‘men can’t cook’, men are useless’ and ‘men can’t clean’. The assumption is that these are ‘women only’ jobs, and therefore men are not welcomed into the ranks of the care industry. Subsequently, the care industry appears to be an unfriendly place for a man to enter, and it is harder to retain the men who are there.

It seems that while there is a lot of talk of gender equality relating to women wanting equal paid jobs and positions, there is also a reverse situation which must be addressed. Men who are qualified in any area of the care sector should be freely allowed, and encouraged to work in the industry. It is time that this fact is recognised, and men seen as a potential solution to an ongoing staff problem in the care sector.