Men continue to stubbornly refuse opportunities in pink-collar work - Debut

Men continue to stubbornly refuse opportunities in pink-collar work - Debut Ah, the patriarchy. The song  used  to say, This is a mans world, however, stereotypical male jobs are on the sharp decline. The jobs that are on the rise? So-called pink-collar work, or occupations that usually employ women. Think health aides, nurses, or jobs in the service industry. However, the New York Times reports that men arent flocking to these jobs as they practically should.  In fact, more than a fifth of American men arent employed at all. On an objective level, some might say thats just silly. Having said that, there is no underestimating the stigma that comes with doing a job thats perceived as womens work. Why is this happening? Lets wind it back a little. When you were growing up, were you ever told certain jobs were for men and other jobs were for women? For example, men became doctors and women grew up to be nurses. Take that. Combine it with the repeated rhetoric that things that are perceived to be female are inherently weaker and less worthy. What do you get? Children who grow into adults who look at pink-collar work as lesser. The stigma is pretty entrenched. A study published in April 2016  explored what happens when men make a lateral move into pink-collar work. The results werent pretty. In fact, men in the lowest-rung jobs like nursing assistants earned 10 per cent less than men on the same level in a blue-collar job. The bright side? Men in pink-collar jobs were actually less likely to be laid off, and saw a significant rise in wages over time. Blue collar wages, however, mostly stayed the same. Traditional masculinity is standing in the way of working-class mens employment, Andrew Cherlin, a sociologist and public policy professor at Johns Hopkins University told the  Times. We have a cultural lag where our views of masculinity have not caught up to the change in the job market. Speaking of the job market, how is it actually changing? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the two jobs predicted to decline the fastest from 2014 to 2024 are locomotive firers (declining 70 per cent) and vehicle electronic installers and repairers (declining 50 per cent). Respectively, they are 96 per cent and 98 per cent male. Meanwhile, the fastest growing jobs are overwhelmingly female. Jobs such as occupational therapy assistants, physical therapy assistants and home health aides are seeing an especially sharp increase. Care jobs in general are rising by 30% or higher, and are generally over 68% female. This is despite the fact that, as we covered earlier, pink-collar work tends to be more stable. Dont try to convince working-class men that, though. Joan Williams, law professor at U.C. Hastings comments: White working-class mens wages have plummeted, and what happens to men in that context is anxieties about whether theyre real men' she said. *Sigh*. Toxic masculinity continues to rear its fragile, ugly head, it seems. Heres to hoping a paradigm shift happens in the near future, decreasing the stigma against pink-collar jobs so we can all just get on with our happy, employed lives. Feature image ©  CreateHERstock GIFS via Giphy Download the Debut app and get Talent-Spotted by amazing graduate employers! Connect with Debut on  Facebook  and  Twitter