by MATTHEW SMITH Staff Writer
In a recessive economy, gender stereotypes are dissolving as men take jobs previously only performed by women, such as nursing, school teaching, and telephone operating.
“Jobs are jobs, some are suited for men and some are better suited for women, but in the case of jobs like nursing, then it’s equal because both require the same skill,” says sophomore Gerardo Sanchez.
For years, a career thought of as ‘feminine’, such as jobs ike nursing were solely performed by women. However, due to the recession, many men who get laid off of their usual careers are applying for nursing school.
“In economic hard times, you do see more men crossing over, because jobs that are predominantly female tend to be located in more stable places of employment,” said Christine Williams, a professor of the University of Texas.
John Snedegar, a registered nurse and former soldier, said, “You go in, in your scrubs, and they think, ‘Hey, the doctor’s here,’ and when they find out you’re the nurse, you know, you get the funny look.”
Though nursing seems to be climbing as a popular profession for men, only 5 percent of nurses are male. Although there is an increase in males taking female-oriented jobs, there is still much room for the change to grow.
Junior Matthew Dobromilsky said, “I want to be a nurse so I could help people. Nursing has primarily in the past been a “pink collar” job; however, in my opinion, it’s one of the most direct ways of helping people, compared to a doctor. Nurses are taking over many of the jobs of a doctor as well, becoming more specialized, so many men are taking those professions for that reason. I think it’s important that men take these positions in order to help the field, with more diversity, too.”
Not just nursing, but many other jobs, such as librarians, bank tellers and teachers are increasing with males as well. However, though more and more males take primary school teaching jobs, hundreds of schools still do not have any.
“[T]he number of male telephone operators has risen about 50 percent over the period [of 20 years], librarians, 45 percent, bank tellers, 40 percent, and male preschool and kindergarten teachers have helped boost the number of male teachers by 28 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.” said ABC News on the topic.
With so much popularity, males in high school now should feel no shame in aspiring to get a stable recession proof job, despiste its higher popularity among women.