The men who do 'women's work'

Male teacher plays with kids at kindergarten
Male teacher plays with kindergarten children: breaking the taboo. Photograph: Monkey Business Images/Rex Features

I think it a well-known fact, or at least it should be, that women have historically done work, very hard work, decade upon decade, right to the present, for wages not equal to men in similar roles in the US. My own mother can attest to this fact, when she worked factory assembly lines, doing the exact job of male counterparts, yet making less money because she was a female.

Which is why it is more than a little ironic to me that recent reports are saying American males of all backgrounds, because of the recession, have been forced to seek employment in areas once thought to be the exclusive domain of women: "women's work", or "pink-collar jobs", the kind of work our sexist world socialized us to believe was somehow beneath that of a man.

When I was coming of age, you rarely saw men working as nurses, as grade-school teachers, as secretaries, or they certainly did not tell anyone that those were their occupations. Men were supposed to do so-called manly work, like construction, like being bosses of companies. But that notion has been tossed aside because financial times are, well, tough for many of us men. The irony is that while women continue to blaze paths in various career paths, including those traditionally held by men, it has become increasingly difficult for men to get a good job with benefits, whether we have a college degree or not.

Take the case of 29-year-old Byron Allgood of Columbus, Ohio. He set up furniture for events and tutored at his college, but realized he needed to make a life adjustment.

"Jobs were very scarce when I came out of college and I just so happened to learn about a district that had two kindergarten spots open up. So I jumped right on the lead and I found myself teaching 5- and 6-year-old kids."

Then, there is 39-year-old Ali Gilmore of San Francisco. He previously worked as a web developer and production artist, but is now a nurse. Ali says he wanted a job where he felt he could make a difference, so he chose nursing. Be it television or movies or historical figures like Florence Nightingale, we've certainly always seen the image of the nurse as female. That did not bother Ali one bit.

"I think that those sorts of jobs just aren't presented as options to young males. Perhaps this has more to do with those raising kids as opposed to the kids themselves. But I also think education as a whole is no longer a priority for young males. When I was doing my prerequisites for nursing school, I noticed how few males there were enrolled in any classes. It seemed as though most guys wanted quick fix jobs that did not necessarily require a degree."

A quick fix for some, yes, but a growing number of American males, recognizing there is no quick fix in sight, are opting to explore career possibilities once scoffed at by their sex. And as these males enter female-dominated occupations, sexism and gender privilege follow: men even earn more than women in these once-taboo fields for males. So, just because men are entering these arenas does not mean gender equality is being achieved.

While that harsh reality needs to change, there's no denying that gender roles have evolved since the days of our parents and grandparents. Byron Allgood certainly hopes this is the case.

"When most people think of kindergarten they think of gentle women hugging and singing songs with the kids. They don't think of men being able to provide the comfort and gentleness that goes along with teaching young learners."

But according to Ali Gilmore, this trend toward men taking up pink-collar jobs does not mean there are plenty of opportunities for men in this female-dominated world.

"Even as I graduated from nursing school, it took me a year and a half to find a job nursing; I actually went back to web development for a while. What I'm saying is: it's tough out there. Even for nurses. However, maybe just a little less tough than other occupations."

Tough, yes, with little let-up in this recession in view. I think we can expect more men to march in the direction of pink-collar jobs, and come to feel the way Byron Allgood does about their new lives:

"That was a huge part of staying in kindergarten for me. Once I got a job and got my foot in the door, I considered moving on to higher grade. But by being a male kindergarten teacher, I made myself a rare asset to my field."