Today, most people perceive nursing as a women profession. Men who enter this field have been looked at as outcasts. Many individuals feel that a man does not belong in a “female” profession. I believe that statement to be untrue and unfair. The issue of gender discrimination in nursing is the same as any other professions. The only difference is nursing is dominated by women, and men are the minority fighting for equality. My goal in this paper is to help you understand why I’m arguing that men should be welcomed in the nursing profession. Gender or sex discrimination involves treating an employee or a category of employees differently because of gender. Whenever this discrimination affects the terms or conditions of employment, it is illegal. Gender-based different treatment of employees with regard to pay, title, position, hours worked and vacation time is generally considered illegal and wrong. Just 2.7 percent of the working nursing population in the United States are men. To understand why nursing is dominated by women we have to analyze the history. Male nurses may belong, but there’s still not many around. According to the U.S. Labor Department statistics, 6.7 percent of registered nurses were male. Gender discrimination in nursing exists because of prejudices male students encounter in the classroom, in the workplace and with patients. Over the years discrimination of males in the nursing has declined but just like racial discrimination it still exists. To understand gender discrimination in nursing we must first understand the past. Nursing was found in the 3rd century in ancient Rome and was dominated by men. Since the 20th century women have dominated the nursing profession. Actually, in the 1897 American Nurse Association was founded, and no men were allowed. The rule eventually changed in 1930, allowing men the right to be a nurse. Are male nurses accepted by female nurses? I feel like if you are in the nursing profession and don’t understand that there is a shortage of nurses in the world then it shouldn’t matter if they are male or female. Every gender should be accepted. The require for male nurses is on a rise, partly because there is a growing demand for nurses in general. That also
Changes in the late 1800's resulted in universities admitting women, thus allowing them to explore many more educational opportunities. These factors together provided the impetus for establishment of hospitals and schools to formally train nurses, with many schools opening for the first time in the 1870s. At the same time, though the need for nurses had been established and the importance of their role within the realm of medical care recognized, there was a great deal of opposition to the proposal that nurses should be formally educated. This attitude was epitomized by a well-known article of the time published in 1908, 'The over-trained nurse' in which the author asserted that nursing was not a “profession” but merely an “honorable calling”. Consistent with this notion, public perception viewed nursing as a job that women were generally suited to perform rather than one which required special skill and was even equated with a religious “calling”. This view, influenced by early nursing's relationship with religious orders remained far into the 20th century.(Lasseter, 1999).
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars discrimination based on sex, which effectively means gender. This prohibition does not solely protect woman, as many people assume, but also men. It is a genderless prohibition. I further pushed this issue while interviewing Dan and ends up he has experienced the short end of the gender discrimination first hand. He states: “I have gone to quite a few interviews where I am being compared with many men who are qualified for a position, but the one female who applies tends to get the job.” Now, I know it’s hard to confirm the qualification of the applicants but this may be a form of gender bias. In Dan’s experiences this has taken the form of favoring woman in the hiring decision because they are aiming to build a more diverse workplace. I have been warned again and again of these type of scenarios, being a woman pursuing an engineering position in the
Even after decades, not much has changed regarding men in this specific career path. When we see movies like “meet the parents” in which the father in law constantly makes fun of Ben Stiller for being a male nurse when he clearly loves his job doesn’t seem to be fair. It is interesting to note that women today have taken positions in programs such as engineering, medicine, and law. However, they are not talked about as much as men in nursing field. Although females continue to exceed men as nurses significantly, the stats of male nurses have increased. The document “Men in nursing occupations” by liana Christian
Eliminating the comparison of male and female students in the nursing field will greatly diminish the gender bias that has been affiliated with the female dominated field (nursing). By executing such an act will more than likely bring change to a struggling profession. Due to the
Sex discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than a person of the opposite sex would be treated in the same or similar circumstances.
The following paper will investigate whether it is moral or immoral to apply strong affirmative action programs at Lethbridge College in attempts to increase the representation of male registered nurses. Further investigation into the topic will be done through the application of ethical egoism and the ethics of care.
Nursing, a profession currently regarded with high esteem and respect, has been tied directly to feminism since its establishment. However, due to the nature of feminism and its implications throughout history, nursing hasn’t always been held with high regard in that respect. It promoted the idea of women assuming roles much greater than that of a caretaker. Nursing began to command for the higher education of women as nursing itself was highly driven to be a respected vocation, combining biomedical sciences and the innate caring and nurturing instincts within its nurses. This was not a passive process. It depended on innovators within, contributing to the education of nurses, and in turn, the education of women. As nursing was
Many people believe that there is gender discrimination in almost all aspects. This is just as true when it
The stigma that females become nurses and males become doctors is outragous, and has lead to discrimination toward male nurses or female doctors. Either field requires a certain level of work and patience, which both sexes can achieve equally. Neither male nor female nurses
“Males make up about 5% of all RNs working in the United States today” (Poliafico). Nursing is a profession in the health care field that concentrates on the nurturing care of individuals. The United States currently lacks testosterone (the male hormone) in the nursing field. The subject is something many people have thought about at least once in their lives. Some may argue nursing is a career meant for a woman, while others may argue it is a non-gender specified career option. Either way, the world has come to accept the lack of men in nursing. The nursing profession should be for both men and women, but society puts a stereotype on the ‘average nurse’ preventing men from being accepted into this career.
According to statistics, intimate care issues, passion, gender role perceptions, nurse shortage, religious believes influence the professional presence of men in nursing to a great extent.
The number of male Nurses in the United States decreased from 13% in the 1890’s to 1-2% in the 1940’s. Although male Nursing hit its lowest point in the 1940’s, it is now only approaching 10% of all nurses. While men are no longer restricted to mental hospitals, there is still some gender division in nursing. Men nurses are more common in intensive care units (ICU’s), emergency departments and operating rooms, and less common in pediatrics and obstetric nursing. If the shortages in male nurses in the United States is to be successfully addressed, men will need to be recruited into the occupation of nursing.
Among twenty leading female-dominated professions, registered nurses (RN’s) are the second most occupation that employed women in 2006¬. Similar to many traditionally female professions, the percentage of male in nursing is small. In fact, male nurses only comprised eight percent of RN’s in 2008. Although much effort has been made to recruit more men into nursing, many contributing factors have driven them away from this profession. Those factors include poor nursing image, negative public perception, low economic status, and gender stereotypes. One of the most significant factors that deter men from entering the profession is stereotypes. Research shows that men might be more likely to encounter stereotypes than discrimination;
There are many different ways in which women are discriminated against in the workplace. The exclusion of women altogether solely due to their gender is a now rare example of how women are discriminated against. Although women have gained overall access to the workplace, sex
Gender Discrimination is a type of discrimination where basing on a particular person’s gender (or) sex a person is discriminated, majorly this type of discrimination is faced by women and girls.