Gender balance in ECEC: why is there so little progress?

Abstract

Social attitudes about male participation in the upbringing of children have changed considerably over the past few decades. Men are now seen as important for children's development and learning. Research from many countries worldwide shows that in early childhood care and education (ECEC), male workers are welcomed by female colleagues and parents. In the last two decades there have been initiatives for more men in ECEC in several European countries. Nevertheless the proportion of male workers ECEC remains low worldwide. This article questions the persisting gender imbalance in ECEC and analyzes ambivalences regarding more men in the field. Based on recent gender theory, efforts and limits of strategies for more male students and workers in ECEC in Belgium, Norway and Germany are discussed. It is concluded that deeply held gendered attitudes and practices in the field of care and educational work with young children have to be put into question. More space in ECEC for embodied subjectivities is needed to overcome essentialist conceptions of differences between body and mind, women and men.

Maneuvering suspicions of being a potential pedophile: experiences of male ECEC-workers in Sweden

“…Should professionalism solely be defined based on discourses of femininity and where the idea of good care is based on motherhood? By discussing professionalism in ECEC, where the relation between children and childcare personnel differs from the relation between children and parents, we can create not only a 'male-friendly culture' in ECEC (Peeters, Rohrmann, and Emilsen 2015) but also have the potential to create a 'mankind-friendly culture', in which both women and men can express professionalism in care within the ECEC, by helping children in intimate situations, such as diaper change, nap-time, comforting and dressing.…”

Conceptualising the value of male practitioners in early childhood education and care: gender balance or gender flexibility

“…The proportion of male staff in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce remains persistently low across the globe with a pattern of between 1% and 3% in most countries (Drudy et al, 2005;Brody, 2014) with only three countries, Norway, Denmark and Turkey, managing over 5% (Peeters et al, 2015). However, there is currently a concerted call to transform the gendered make-up of the ECEC workforce and raise the number of men.…”

Changing the gender balance in preschools: an analysis of active work carried out by seven Swedish municipalities

“…Even though the number of men working in preschools is very low, and despite the fact that some initiatives taken to change that number have been taken (Johannesen, 2010), the issue of men working in preschools is wider than increasing the numbers of men working there. This is taken up by Peeters, Rohrmann, and Emilsen (2015). This article focuses on the strategies used by a number of municipalities to achieve the goal of recruiting more men into preschools.…”