Changing Gender Roles In The Nursing Profession

In 2011, there were 3.5 million employed nurses in America, and about 3.2 million of whom were female, and 330,000 male. Since October of 1854 when Florence Nightingale, a British woman that is broadly acknowledged as the pioneer of nursing, accompanied by a group of female nurses provided nursing services to British soldiers in Crimea; the nursing profession has been dominated by the female gender. On July 1, 1982, the Supreme Court made strives for men in nursing as the court ruled in favor of Joe Hogan in the case of Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan. The Supreme Court deemed Mississippi ideals of remaining a one-sex school as unconstitutional, thus the courts permitting the admission of men in nursing schools. Despite the many controversies …show more content…
Essentially, it is absolutely crucial for men to feel at ease in the nursing profession as it ultimately provides them with the ability to not only be financially stable, as there is a shortage in nursing, but also to add a different dynamic to the hospital setting through therapeutic relations. Nursing, like teaching and waitressing is among the occupations that economists call “pink-collared jobs,” or professions long dominated by women. Over the years more and more men are donning the pink-collar and facing the social stigma associated with “women’s work.” Male’s numbers tell us that we have a long way to go when it comes to evening out representation in certain fields.
The most obvious and publicly condemned example of inequality in the workplace, especially in nursing, is the prevalence of occupational sexism, or any discriminatory practices, statements, and actions based on a person's gender that are present or occur in a place of employment. The concept of gender disparities in …show more content…
In “The male of the species: a profile of men in nursing” a research study completed by multiple RN’s in Western Australia, analyzes what is means to be a male nurse. The extreme problem is the low numbers of male in nursing, about 8% of nurses in Western Australia are male. This literature review was accepted for publication on December 15th, 2015 and contains a clear and concise abstract with clear organization. Gaps in the literature are clearly defined in the limitations portion of the study. This included selection bias due to a convenience sample. The purpose of this study was to establish a profile of men in nursing in Western Australia and explore the perception of men in nursing from the perspective of male and female nurses. On top of that, other research project objectives were identified as well. Due to the low numbers of men in nursing, it is crucial to establish a profile of these men and the perception of men in the nursing field from both male and female nurses. There was no theoretical framework present in this research