The issues of diversity and equal career access are among the critical ones for today’s society. The significant development in this regard has contributed to the increased overall economic efficiency by allowing the best-skills professionals to occupy the relevant jobs. However, gender equality campaigns have traditionally been focused on making “predominantly male professions accessible to everyone” without paying attention to the opposite situations (Shpancer). One of the areas where women occupy the leading place in the daycare, and this leads to some undesired consequences. The review of factors causing the mentioned state and its outcomes is a crucial step in finding the right place for men in this valuable profession.
Several reasons can explain the predominantly female composition of daycare specialists. First, this profession has always been considered more suitable for women since they usually spend a lot of time with their children. Although current research indicates that men can be equally caring, sensitive, and responsive, they are often viewed as “unmanly or incompetent” if they pursue this career (Shpancer). Moreover, parents are often suspicious of male caregivers questioning their true motives and even thinking of paedophilia (Shpancer). Finally, the average wages in this area are relatively small and do not allow a person to support his family. Combined, these factors make a caregiver’s career unappealing to most men.
Although the reasons mentioned above are convincing, a complete transformation of this situation would be beneficial for society. It would provide for a gender-integrated environment, meaning the full inclusion of men in all care activities. This has proven to bring certain advantages for children’s development as it demonstrates that a parent’s role is an essential part of masculinity (Shpancer). Moreover, the current situation often leads to boys experiencing “lower quality interactions in daycare,” which further leads to increased behavior problems (Shpancer). Finally, allowing men to perform the job they want without social condemnation is an excellent way to increase their life satisfaction. Therefore, any community should encourage male professionals to work in daycare by countering the existing stereotypes and providing decent salaries.
Work Cited
Shpancer, Noam. “No Man’s Land: Where Are the Male Daycare Caregivers?” Psychology Today, 2019, Web.