Reason Why Males Don't Get Involved
1.) Childcare is commonly viewed as an extension of the role of women as mothers. In our society we tend to see the women being the person who stays home and cares for the children and because of this society considers the Early Childhood Education field to be one for women.
2.) Women are perceived to be doing a perfectly good job so men may not feel that they contribute to this sector as well as women and they may feel that they are not being challenged enough at work as opposed to jobs in the trades.
3.) Men who enter paid childcare work are often thought of as men who are not 'real' men or gay. Despite how far the field has come, many people still view the field as a job that is not challenging and that Early Childhood Educators are just glorified babysitters who just sit and play with the children all day. because of this many men who do decide to enter the field tend to be discriminated against and are perceived to 'gay' or not considered real men due to the type of job they have decided to take on.
4.) All women are perceived to be safe to work with young children whereas any man is considered suspect if he goes into this type of work. Many people believe that men who enter childcare work have alterier motives for doing so.
5.) Childcare and teaching work is a low-pay and low-status occupation. Men are used to being the breadwinner of the family and going into a field that does not promise a high salary discourages men away from the field.
(Farquhar, Cablk, Buckingham, Butler & Ballantyne, 2006)
2.) Women are perceived to be doing a perfectly good job so men may not feel that they contribute to this sector as well as women and they may feel that they are not being challenged enough at work as opposed to jobs in the trades.
3.) Men who enter paid childcare work are often thought of as men who are not 'real' men or gay. Despite how far the field has come, many people still view the field as a job that is not challenging and that Early Childhood Educators are just glorified babysitters who just sit and play with the children all day. because of this many men who do decide to enter the field tend to be discriminated against and are perceived to 'gay' or not considered real men due to the type of job they have decided to take on.
4.) All women are perceived to be safe to work with young children whereas any man is considered suspect if he goes into this type of work. Many people believe that men who enter childcare work have alterier motives for doing so.
5.) Childcare and teaching work is a low-pay and low-status occupation. Men are used to being the breadwinner of the family and going into a field that does not promise a high salary discourages men away from the field.
(Farquhar, Cablk, Buckingham, Butler & Ballantyne, 2006)
Advantages for Men in Feminized Jobs:
- easy entry into the field because of a preference for hiring men;
- rapid promotions to more prestigious and/or lucrative positions as compared to their women peers;
- supportive, rather than hostile, relations with peers with no hint of sexual or other kinds of harassment;
- the ability to create and maintain an internal gender hierarchy that has a balance of societal gender order;
- close relations with men administrators
(Sargent, 2004)
Benefits of Male Early Childhood Educators
Having the presence of a male model in the classroom can be beneficial in many ways. Male Educators have a direct impact in the childcare classroom by:
- Gender Balance- Males promote a more active, physical environment in the child and the females foster a nurturing, calm, and positive environment
- Fathers can sometimes relate to the male ECEs as single-parent families, or children who are absent from a father figure
- Men and women have different caring styles and behaviours, which can benefit children.It introduces children to different styles of caring, playing and instructing (Rolfe, 2006).
- Children are able to experience and observe positive relationships between men and women
- Children experience a positive male role mode, something they may not experience at home.
- Males and Female brains process information differently; the male can provide a different perspective in dealing with situations with the children (Rolfe, 2006).
- There is a possibility of gender issues within a workplace; having a male can challenge the stereotypes in relations to toys and activities (Rolfe, 2006).