‘It Never Struck Me as Female’: Investigating Men's Entry into Female-dominated Occupations

Abstract

Whilst occupational segregation by sex remains the most pervasive aspect of the labour market, some men cross gender boundaries to work in female-dominated jobs. This article explores how men who do ‘women's work’ articulate reasons for moving into such jobs. Drawing on testimonies from a purposive sample of ten British men working in non-traditional jobs, we present personal testimonies and insights that challenge existing accounts of why men enter female-dominated work places. Following Bradley, four explanations are suggested for why these men opted to do non-traditional work. They are: labour market changes; role models; possibility of different masculinities; and career ambition. We argue that existing explanations are simplistic and unable to make sense of the contingent aspects of working life that account for why men choose to pursue jobs currently dominated by women.

Keywords:

• Men
• non-traditional jobs
• gender
• gendered work
• ‘infiltration’

Notes

¹ We acknowledge the irony here in the case of a former nurse now doing research on this topic who finds himself employed in a male-dominated occupation.