We often hear statements like being a nurse is a woman's job, and if a man really wants to go into healthcare, they should become a doctor. This also applies to sectors like flight attendants and teachers, where people provide a myriad of excuses as to why a certain field should remain female-dominated. But, since when is a job gendered? Aren't men supposed to know how to do it all?
Well, it has little to do with the skillset attached to the job, and more importantly the demographic that works the job. When a particular field is dominated by women, men decide to leave the same altogether, in a sociological phenomenon called as Male Flight.
Male flight is caused when women enter a particular profession, long seen as male-dominated or 'for men'. But once women join, the men tend to leave the occupation to uphold traditional masculinity. This results in the average pay for the average employee in that field going down. This is similar to White Flight, a phenomenon in America to describe the widely known phenomenon of affluent white populations moving out of urban areas. As the areas become increasingly racially diverse, the home value of those neighbourhoods decline.
Over the last few decades, the women's labour participation has increased substantially, causing the 'feminisation' of certain jobs. From higher level job sectors such as healthcare, law and human resources to lower-level occupations like receptionists and bakers, this phenomenon can be seen on all occupation hierarchy levels.
Historic Devaluation of Female-dominated Jobs
The devaluation of professions where women begin to enter has been long seen throughout history. Though women were always considered medical experts, with records dating as far back as ancient Egypt and Greece, there was a shift in the late Middle Ages of Europe. At that time, the church decreed that all medical practitioners must obtain a university education. Since women had been banned from attending university, and thus could not practice medicine legally, men began to dominate this field and became nurses, usually in service of religion or military.
However, in the 1854 Crimean War, the work of Florence Nightingale caused the occupation to become more feminised. She became an inspiration to young women everywhere and is now known as the founder of modern nursing. She stated every woman is a nurse, which conveniently aligned with the notion of women being natural caregivers.
The men in the nursing field declined till the 1970s, when men began to enter the field again, eyeing to hold higher positions in the field. This translates to male nurses earning an average annual salary than their female counterparts in contemporary times. Moreover, they are differentiated as 'male nurses' due to the job still being seen as traditionally feminine and less intellectually challenging than being a doctor.
In a similar vein, traditionally the sphere of teaching in India was limited to upper-caste Hindu men, who taught a variety of subjects like religion, moral values, philosophy, medicine and warfare. It was only when Savitribai Phule, the first Indian woman to become a teacher, revolutionised Indian education, resulting in an increase in education for girls.
Now, in modern day India, more than half of the school education workforce is female. However higher education continues to be male-dominated, with female educators surveyed to have felt harassment, exclusion or discrimination in their jobs.
The reverse of this phenomenon can be seen in America prior to the era of the space race in the 1960s and 1970s, when computer programming was thought of as a non-complex, mechanical, routine activity and thus suitable for women. Roles in computer science were segregated between women who worked on software and men who worked on the hardware. It was later when computing became more 'intellectually-challenging', did men start dominating the field.
Feminisation of STEM fields
In recent times, devaluation of spaces that are mainly female can also be seen in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics majors (STEM majors). STEM majors have historically been dominated by men. As of 2022, 40% of STEM bachelor's degree recipients in India are women but hold only 14% of STEM jobs in the country. Fields with greater female representation such as biology and health sciences are often perceived as less rigorous than engineering and technology, despite the fact that biological sciences require advanced mathematical applications. Moreover, STEM majors with higher female participation receive lower funding and pay compared to those that are dominated by men.
Since 2015, there has been an overall increase in the gross enrolment ratio of female students in higher education. The increase in education rates of women can be seen globally and correlates to the devaluation of higher education itself, now being seen as a 'feminine' hobby. Many prominent male personalities increasingly argue that an ivy-league university degree has diminished in value, instead promoting trade schools which emphasize manual labour— a traditionally masculine occupational trait.
What fuels the flight?
So, why do men fly when women rise? Firstly, it is the feminine connotation to the said-job-when something becomes a woman's job, men believe it's below them to participate in it. On the flipside, women leave male-dominated spaces because they do not feel a sense of belongingness.
When women work in male-dominated fields, they're more likely to experience sexual harassment, discrimination, a lack of mentoring opportunities, and societal expectations that question women's leadership and managerial abilities. In other words, they're treated as inferior.
However, when men enter female-dominated fields, the results couldn't be more different. Studies show that men are often welcomed by their female colleagues, who believe that recruiting men will raise the status and pay of their profession. Margarita Torre, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Universidad Carlos III, Madrid wrote that women are culturally devalued and skills perceived as female are systematically under-rewarded.
Some men would rather endure unemployment than accept a relatively high-paying women's job and suffer the potential social stigma.
Flight beyond professions
This phenomenon extends beyond professions. Cheerleading was once considered a male sport that requires great amounts of physical strength. Cheerleading began prior to when most colleges and universities began accepting women, so the cheerleaders often were just athletes from other sports there to support their peers. Now, as cheerleaders yell and direct crowds, it was seen as a masculine pastime. However, when men were drafted for war, women began to fill in as cheerleaders and soon there was less focus on leading crowds and performing athleticism and more emphasis on the cheerleaders' physical attractiveness.
Moreover, statistically men are 3 times more likely to get skin cancer because they label skincare as a feminine hobby. This lack of concern is alarming since male skin is biologically more prone to sun damage and also doesn't repair as quickly as female skin. Male flight is a great example of how patriarchy negatively affects men. Their refusal to join certain industries, due to their fear of being seen as feminine, holds them back from even understanding their capacity in the field, let alone finding success in it.
Strategies to combat Gendered Occupations
A workforce with a balance of the genders is beneficial to both individuals and economies. To combat male flight requires grassroots as well as systematic efforts across jobs in the occupational hierarchy.
Encourage Male participation in Nursing
Male participation should be encouraged in caregiving professions like nursing through dispelling stigmas of the profession being less respected than that of a doctor. Nurses should be portrayed as professionals who have precise technical skills and are capable of working under high-pressure conditions.
Support female advancement in STEM fields
More girls should be encouraged to take up STEM majors. Most girls lose interest in STEM during their teenage years. Students should be taught early on of the various creative, practical and societally meaningful applications of STEM jobs, while also giving them female role models who have made valuable contributions in the field. There should be a more welcoming and positive environment for women as they face additional challenges in STEM related professions. This can range from an exclusion attitude perceived due to the gender ratio imbalance in the workforce to not speaking up as often due to their contribution being under heavy scrutiny in general. Women should be encouraged to break these glass ceilings by workplaces fostering environments that promote open dialogue and collaboration. It could drastically alter the under-researched field of women's medicine, ensuring that new innovations are designed with women in mind instead of just men.
Promote inclusive workplace policies
Organisations across fields should design and implement inclusive workplace practices like anti-discrimination and anti-harassment measures,mentorship programs, flexible work arrangements and equal pay. Companies should also work on avoiding tokenism and considering women as a homogenous group by prioritising an intersectional approach- understanding the diverse experiences and identities of employees.
The persistence of male flight reflects broader gender biases embedded within labor markets and societal perceptions of work. Only when we work on challenging gender stereotypes, implementing equal workplace policies, and encouraging participation of genders in all professional fields will we begin to move towards a diverse workplace. We need more women in male-dominated fields and we need more men in female-dominated fields. This gives us a better shot at improving our country's overall economic performance, and therefore improving life not just for women, but for everyone.
