In the 1960’s women have fought for “equal opportunities and equal civil rights” (P. 162 Mullaly, 2007) When it comes to caring for people who have mental disabilities, or any disabilities for that matter, women are the main providers. There are more women in the nursing field, granted there are also men in this particular field, however the majority are women. The reason women are the leading gender throughout this career falls back onto a stereotypical explanation. Many years ago women were the stay at home mothers that nurtured, cared for their children, for their husbands and took care of the house hold responsibilities. Women still fill the role of caring for others by becoming nurses.
“Women have the greatest responsibility for the family, including child care and elder care”. (P. 161 Mullaly, 2007) This statement suggests that women are supposed to take care of their family, even though women have tried to gain an equal status to men there are still many gender roles that continue to take place in society today. This statement also helps support my theory concerning the reality that there are more female nurses compared to male nurses due to the fact that being a nurse involves caring for people with mental disabilities and other diseases/illnesses.
Females have more rights today then they had in the past. Many women continue to pursue careers that involve the stereotypes in which they have been trying to get away from. Women continue to willingly take care of others who are not healthy and who have mental health issues. “Males are more active and aggressive than females, and are focused on their jobs or on sports or activities. Women, though also shown in the workplace, are portrayed more than men in providing care to others”. (P. 171 Ward, 2006)
Roles that hold more power are usually held by males, such as doctors and counsellors; however most females choose to continue in career roles that they are expected to. Women are expected to care for others and they themselves make the career based decision to become nurses or other caregivers.
Resources:
Ward, M. (2006). The family dynamic: a Canadian
perspective fourth kind. Canada
of Thomsson Canada
Mullaly, B. (2007). The new structural social work.
-Brettany G.
Great post! We pretty much have the same perspective on the nurturing/caring role that women have. I especially agree with what you said about women pursuing careers that are stereotyped. I've seen many women doing construction work, being a CEO of a company, and especially working in a warehouse. It's amazing how strong women and intelligent women are, and how much power they can bring into the world. This just goes to show that without women in the world, where would everyone be? I enjoy talking about feminism!
ReplyDelete- Angelene S.
I agree with what you said about women being good at nurturing and caring for others. Obviously to become a nurse these are two of the key characteristics one must hold to be successful. I'm also glad that you added it is a woman's choice to be a nurse. Like Angelene said women can do any type of work that men can do, and it is their choice to decide what careers they will pursue! Thanks for your post!
ReplyDelete-Eliza R.
Great post! I agree that women have made huge advances in the job market. However, I think another really important issue to examine is why women get paid less, despite the fact that care giving jobs are extremely important. Perhaps it is because it's still seen as "woman's work" and therefore viewed as an expectation for women rather than a profession. So I agree with you that we still must continue to fight for equal status, in hopes it will finally result in equal pay.
ReplyDelete-Erin Roche
Good post! It is very true that women work in stereotypical jobs. I completely agree with you that it is the women’s choice to choose their career and that they continue to choose stereotypical careers. Women are still expected to maintain household task and provide childcare, I’m wondering if that is the reason why so many women also choose nurturing careers?
ReplyDeleteMelanie. F
Thats a good question about why so many women choose to take on careers that involve the stereotypical views and if it has anything to do with them feeling that they are still expected to perform these roles. However I am aslo curious as to what would happen if women didn't take on the responsibility of these roles. Since the majority of nurses are women would men step up if women did not? and I also agree that women need to fight for equal rights when it comes to their pay. They work just as hard as men and deserve to be paid equally.
ReplyDelete-Brettany G.
I think that if women didn't take on the responsibility of these stereotypical roles men would step up and fill them. However, I think the stereotypical roles would then probably be considered manly jobs not fit for women and it would be hard for a woman to be taken seriously if she wanted to partake. I also agree with women and men being paid equally because it does not matter what gender you are if you are good at your job you should be paid well.
ReplyDeleteAlexis B.
I most definitely agree that there is a stereotype for women, as being responsible for nurturing and caring for their children, spouse and the elders in their family. It is also assumed that women are also responsible for household jobs. I agree that there are more female nurses because being a nurse requires great skills and strengths in being very caring and nurturing to all members of society, for example those with a mental illness.
ReplyDeleteAshley R.
I appreciate women have done a good job of take care of others, as well as their families and others like people with mental illness. But i also agree with that women have more options for careers choices other than caring related. Gender should not be a barrier when it comes to career choice. Your post inspried me a lot.
ReplyDeleteSarah Poon
Hello Brettany, Yes, we definitely see more women in care giving roles then men. Many people think that gender stereotypes and gender segregation either barley exists or no longer exist at all. However, women are still in primary care giving roles at home and in their careers which shows that it still has a strong existence. Children today are still socialized by sociality to comply with their gender roles as women as passive/patient and men as aggressive/masculine. This was a great post very insightful!
ReplyDeleteNicole G