Nursery World - We men are as poor as the women

By Stephen Taw, an early years worker in south London I have worked as a nursery nurse in day nurseries for over three years and can say that I have been very happy with other workers' attitudes towards me. I have been shown respect and gratitude for my presence in the nurseries, and colleagues have told me to my face that they are glad to work with me, as they feel a male nursery nurse being there is good for both children and staff. But it has not all been a bed of roses. I have experienced some sexism - the worst of which was at a job interview when a proprietor of a private day nursery told me she would not employ me if I was gay because of parents' fears about AIDS. But there has been nothing that I couldn't handle. However, I would advise any man coming into the early years sector to be assertive and thick-skinned and not to take too much nonsense, though he would need to let a few things go.

But it has not all been a bed of roses. I have experienced some sexism - the worst of which was at a job interview when a proprietor of a private day nursery told me she would not employ me if I was gay because of parents' fears about AIDS. But there has been nothing that I couldn't handle. However, I would advise any man coming into the early years sector to be assertive and thick-skinned and not to take too much nonsense, though he would need to let a few things go.

One factor that has affected my enjoyment of the job is schools' insistence on taking children at a younger age. I like working with four-year-olds in the nursery, but now most of the children I work with are aged two. A knock-on effect has been that a lot of our resources are no longer age-appropriate for the children in our care.

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