Running Head: Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

Jacob Wilson
Writing for Work
March 30, 2016

Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

Introduction
Background
Throughout much of the 21st century, there has been an emergence through almost all
areas in the workplace of the western world for equality of gender in the workplace. While such
equality has made major strides in many different occupations recently, there are still multiple
professions where gender inequality exists. One such field where this inequality is still a major
problem is nursing. In the nursing field, estimates of gender makeup say that men account for
approximately 10 percent of nurses in the west while women make up approximately 90 percent
of the field (Kouta, 2011, p. 59). According to a study by Ukke Karabacak, Esin Uslusoy, Nefise
Bahcecik, and Sule Ecevit Alpar, in the past, men made up a very large percentage of the nursing
field. However, the amount of men in the field of nursing began to steadily decrease sometime
after the work of Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War during the middle to late 1800s
(2012, p. 537). The general consensus as to why this happened is due to a change in the western
worlds cultural views about what sex was best suited for the job. Additionally, Nightingales
work gave nursing a generally feminine, especially when she claimed that nursing was a practice
that was intrinsic to women, but not to men. Nursing came to be perceived as a job that required
a large amount of nurturing and intimacy (Karabacak et. Al, 2012, p. 538), both qualities that
were recognized to be almost exclusively female at the time. And while the number of men in the
nursing field has been steadily increasing in the past few years, the stigma that nursing is a
feminine profession largely remains the same. Because of this stigma, men who choose to enter
the nursing field face many different challenges, and discriminatory perceptions that women in
the same field dont generally need to worry about.

Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

Problem
While improvements have been made during the last few years, nursing still remains a
profession that is largely dominated by women. In the field, men face many discriminatory views
held by the general public, patients and female colleagues that restrict them from going in to
certain nursing fields, restrict the actions that they are allowed to perform in regards to patient
care in the workplace, and that either restrict or dissuade them from entering into or staying in
the field at all. These views and restrictions generally stem from cultural views in the west as to
what is and is not feminine, as well as what is and what is not masculine.

Purpose
The purpose of this report is to show that men in the field of nursing face a number of
perceptions and discriminatory views and actions throughout most, but not all, of the world, that
women of the same profession do not usually have to deal with. This report also aims to show
that these views and actions generally arise from social and cultural perceptions about how
nursing is a profession for women, not men.

Scope
This report explores the differences that men face compared to women in the field of
nursing throughout the western world. It will also illustrate how social and cultural perceptions
regarding sex can and have influenced how a profession, particularly nursing, grows and
changes.

Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

Discussion
Differences faced by male nurses when compared to
female nurses
There are similarities that both male and female nurses face, such as earning
approximately the same salary when they are both beginning their nursing careers (Perkins,
2012). However, later in their nursing careers, male nurses face many differences and challenges
when compared to their female counterparts, but also some advantages.
The first difference that male nurses often face from female nurses is the reason why they
choose to enter the nursing field in the first place. Often men choose to become nurses not
because it is the career that the most desire, but because a job in the nursing field is almost
guaranteed to be available if you have the necessary qualifications (Karabacak et al, 2012, p.
540).
Male nurses also face limitations as to what specific jobs in the nursing position they can
acquire. For instance, in England 9 out of every 10 nurses are female, while 3 out of four medical
supervisors and 9 out of 10 surgeons are male (Kouta, 2011, p. 59). Men are also barred from
certain positions outright at times due to their gender. Male lactation consultants and male
midwifes are extremely rare, as are males in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology (Kouta,
2011, p. 59).
A major factor in which male nurses seem to be limited, unlike female nurses, is in their
use of touch on a patient. According to a study done by James Whiteside and Dan Butcher
(2015), male nurses often go about touching patients in a manner that is different from female

Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

nurses for a variety of reasons. One such reason is simply that male nurses have a different way
of getting across their compassion for their patients, with one of Whiteside and Butchers
research subjects claiming that we have our own way of getting it across without putting that
female bend or lean on it in reference to intimate care of their patients (Whiteside & Butcher,
2015, p. 337).
Another major factor in the differences of how touch is used by male nurses when
compared to female nurses is the fear or sexual misinterpretation or allegation. According to
statistics, men comprise around 11 percent of the nursing force in the United Kingdom, but at the
same time men make up almost a quarter of the referrals made to investigating committees. Of
those referrals, 42 percent were removed from the register (Whiteside & Butcher, 2015, p. 336),
presumable due to either the lack of evidence or credibility. As a result of this, and possibly other
factors, the most reported factor on why male nurses expressed intimate care for their patients
differently from female nurses was the feat that their touch would be misinterpreted as a form of
sexual assault by the patient (Whiteside & Butcher, 2015, p. 337).
A third major reason why male nurses are more wary when touching their patients is the
belief that they were not properly prepared in how to properly care for and touch a patient during
nursing school (Kouta, 2011, p. 59). According to many different studies, male nurses were not
taught proper preparation on how to use touch on a patient, and one study found that male nurses
were also not properly educated in protective strategies should a sexual misconduct allegation
arise (Whiteside). One research subject even claimed that The onus of the school towards us
males would be for us to protect ourselves because of the fear of sexual allegations.
However, there are some advantages that male nurses have over their female colleagues.
Men have a higher likelihood of being promoted into managerial or administrative positions than

Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

women do. Male nurses also have a higher weekly median salary than female nurses, with males
earing 1,201 dollars a week on average compared to just 1,039 dollars a week for females. Men
are also 2.5 times more likely to leave the nursing field for a higher paying job than women were
(Perkins, 2012).

How the view of nursing as feminine or not can and has

influenced its growth
As has been previously stated, nursing in most countries around the world has a large
gender gap, with female nurses vastly outnumbering male nurses in most every country. The
main reason for this seems to be that, almost everywhere, nursing is considered to be a job for
women, not for men. However, this wasnt always the case. During the 19th century, men took an
active part in caregiving. This, however, changed after influential nurse Florence Nightingale
referred to nursing as something that is intrinsic to women. This caused a drastic decrease in
the numbers of men in the nursing field, which largely still remains today (Karabacak et al, 2012,
p. 537).
In some cases, nursing has even been called the extension of the domestic role of women,
while at the same time male nurses have come to be regarded as anomalies. This feminine stigma
of nursing has also resulted in numerous negative stereotypes for male nurses, such as being
effeminate or homosexual (Hollup, 2014, p. 759). When coupled with the common beliefs of
what is masculine and what isnt masculine, with nursing being the latter, this has led to the
sharp gender gap in nursing today (Hollup, 2014, p. 759). However, the feminine stigma
associated with nursing does not exist in every country. In the few countries that nursing is not

Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

considered to be a feminine occupation, nursing has evolved to be radically different from those
countries that do label nursing as feminine.
Take, for instance, the African nation of Mauritius. In Mauritius, males make up
approximately 50 percent of the nursing field (Hollup, 2014, p. 756), a humongous increase from
the 10 percent mark in both the United Kingdom and the United States (Kouta, 2011, p. 59). The
reason for this equal distribution of nurses among both genders, as well as the lack of the
feminine stigma associated with nursing, is likely due to how nursing in Mauritius grew.
Nursing in Mauritius never developed any sort of gendered perception at all. Instead, the
profession developed the reputation as an attractive career, thanks to the field providing
government jobs that are very secure, a good source of income, and provide a way to achieve
social mobility among both men and women (Hollup, 2014, p. 255). While nursing in Mauritius
doesnt have a societal view on which gender is better suited for the profession, gender does still
effect it in some way. In Mauritius, male nurses are assigned to wards in which they care
exclusively for male patients, while females are assigned to wards where they care exclusively
for female patients (Hollup, 2014, p. 255).

Conclusion
In many countries around the world, such as the United States and the United Kingdom,
nursing carries a feminine stigma. This stigma often scares off many potential male nurses from
pursuing a nursing profession. However, the male nurses that do choose a career in nursing face
many differences from their female colleagues. Male nurses are essentially barred from getting
jobs in certain fields, face negative stereotypes from the general public, receive education that
doesnt properly prepare them for challenges they are likely to face, and are restricted in how

Differences Faced by Male Nurses in Nursing

they care for their patients due to the fear of sexual misconduct allegations. However, this
feminine stigma did not arise in every country, and as a result the countries that the stigma didnt
materialize in nursing is very different. In these countries, nursing is a sought after job with
stable pay and security, as well as little to no major differences that either sex must face.

References
Hollup, O. (2014). The impact of gender, culture, and sexuality on Mauritian nursing: Nursing as
a non-gendered occupational identity or masculine field? Qualitative study. International
Journal of Nursing Studies, 51(5), 752-760.
http://0-dx.doi.org.iii-server.ualr.edu/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2013.09.013
Karabacak, U., Uslusoy, E., Alpar, S.E., & Bahcecik, N. (2012). Image of nursing held by
nursing students according to gender: A qualitative study. International Journal of
Nursing Practice, 18(6), 537-544.
http://0-dx.doi.org.iii-server.ualr.edu/10.1111/ijn.12008
Kouta, C. (2011). Gender Discrimination and Nursing: Literature Review. Journal of
Professional Nursing, 27(1), 59-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2010.1d0.006
Perkins, S (2012). Gender Inequality Issues in Nursing Careers. Retrieved from
http://work.chron.com/gender-equality-issues-nursing-careers-11250.html
Whiteside, J., & Butcher, D. (2015). Not a job for a man: factors in the use of touch by male
nursing staff. British Journal of Nursing, 24(6), 335-341.