Men in a woman's profession

Alfred Kadushin, Ph.D., is Professor, School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and member of the Editorial Board of social work. This article is based on the assumpsion. They objected to the question tion that a full understanding of the naire as "anachronistic" in approach situation of women social workers can ing the problem in terms that were be reached only by becoming sensitive "stereotypically offensive." They con to, and aware of, the problems of sidered it a "putdown to both men males in the profession. Toward this and women" because it "implied that end, a conscientious review was made an occupation was a gender," and they of literature in the field of social admonished that "the skills of social work as well as in the other professions work have no gender." —such as nursing, elementary educaThe general community may even tion, and librarianship—in which tually view occupations as neuter, as males are in the minority. Based on the avant-garde now does. In general, this literature review and on other however, occupations and professions research concerning the problems enare currently perceived in sex-linked countered by males in female profesterms. Whether or not it is desirable sions, a questionnaire was devised. It or equitable, sex-typing of occupations was pretested with the cooperation of is a matter of established fact.1 As male students in the Graduate School Hughes notes in a study of dilemmas of Social Work at the University of and contradictions associated with oc Wisconsin and was distributed to a cupations, "people carry in their minds national representative sample of 422 a set of expectations concerning the male social workers in direct-service auxiliary traits properly associated positions. Two hundred and fifty-nine with many of the specific positions completed returns were received (61 available in our society."2 The term percent), which is a respectable return "social worker" generally evokes the rate. female image. The survey, conducted in March In plays, novels, and the mass 1976, was of a random sample of those media, the social worker is almost in members of the National Association variably portrayed as a woman, and of Social Workers who had listed the pronoun she is most frequently themselves with the national office as applied in discussions of social work males in direct-service positions. The ers. Occupational sociologists and the respondents were employed primarily literature on occupational guidance in psychiatric social work agencies (30 also categorize social work as a female percent), family and children services profession.3 Thus, the public as well as (20 percent), school social work (13 specialists have been educated to as percent), and medical social work (9 sociate social work with the female percent). Thirty-five percent of the gender.4 Although everybody has respondents were "single, never marheard of "Lady Bountiful," nobody ried," and 40 percent of the group had mentions "Lord Bountiful." no children. Demographic surveys have also sup Two basic questions need to be explied data that have been used to give amined, if not resolved, before considsubstance to the female stereotype: ering the general results of the survey. ■ Social work is one of the few The first question is whether it is acprofessions in which the majority of curate to characterize social work as the work force is female. The 1970 a female profession, and the second census listed 222,500 social workers is whether males in social work do in in the United States, 82,500 (37 per fact have professional problems related cent) of whom were males, and to their sex. 140,000 (63 percent) females.6 ■ NASW membership as of Febru ary 1975 reflected a similar distribu tion: 36.7 percent male, 63.3 percent Reflecting the current efforts to strip female.6 all occupations of sex-linked character■ The 1975 statistics of enrollment izations, some respondents challenged in graduate schools of social work the questionnaire's supposition that soindicate that in the immediate future cial work is actually a female profesthe profession will be even more de A FEMALE PROFESSION?