Men in Childcare - In the balance

There are few males working in the early years sector and this doesn’t seem likely to change any time soon.

Women make up 97 per cent of teachers in pre-primary education in the UK and this number has not changed much between 2005 and 2014 (Bonetti 2018), suggesting that working in the early years sector is ‘an almost entirely gendered career’ (Penn and McQuail 1997). Meanwhile, much continues to be discussed about the need to attract more male practitioners to bring equilibrium to a predominately female workforce (Miller and Cable 2011).

Rolfe (2006) highlights the benefits of having males in an early years setting, as men and women care for children differently. Rolfe states introducing children to different styles of care, play and instructing early on can be beneficial; this is further supported by Tayler and Price (2016), who suggest men and women working alongside each other can be beneficial for children’s development and shows children that both male and females can work together in an early years role. Brandes et al(2015) indicate that males working in an early years setting can have a positive effect on the diversity of learning activities available for young children.