Gender Inequality and Role-strained among Male Nursing Students in Selected Nursing Institution, Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Gender discrimination remains problem in the world as a whole and unfortunately, nursing profession is not immune to this problem. Gender discrimination is rejection or restriction made on the basis of socially constructed gender roles which prevents a person from relishing full human rights. Role strain has been defined as when an individual is likely to experience tension in coping with the rations of dissenting roles. Role strain can occur when the men in nursing are observed by lecturers and peers to occupy a female role distinct with their masculine gender which may lead to diminishment of their individual contribution. Simple random sampling method was used to select nursing institutions that was included in the study and convenience sampling method was used to select the respondents that partook in the study. The study population is male nursing students from 200 level-500 level of the selected nursing institutions. A questionnaire including measures of gender role identity and perceived gender relevance of careers was administered to 205 male student nurses from three nursing institutions. The results showed that 32% of the respondents had not experienced gender bias during nursing school, whereas 68% reported gender bias from the lecturers and the nursing staff. This study has implications for nursing profession that address the current predicament in the nursing field caused by discrimination and social isolation that man face. Therefore, Nursing and Midwifery council of Nigeria should develop a strategic plan to addresses the eradication of discrimination and racism in and by the nursing profession.

British South Asian male nurses' views on the barriers and enablers to entering and progressing in nursing careers

“…Furthermore, if we explore the intersection of gender and ethnicity within the dynamics of the nursing profession for BSA men, this study identifies a number of barriers in line with the current evidence base. The reported gender discrimination for men when working in a female‐dominated environment (Folami, 2017; Rajacich et al, 2013; Shen‐Miller & Smiler, 2015; Zamanzadeh et al, 2013) is coupled with racial discrimination as the BSA male nurses felt they were the victims of prejudice twice over as they were discriminated against once for belonging to a minority ethnic group and then again for being a man. This phenomenon of minority ethnic men facing disadvantage in female‐dominated work environments has been reported upon previously (Dorsey, 2005; Wingfield, 2009).…”

“…Possible explanations in the literature for barriers leading to the underrepresentation of men in the nursing workforce have been categorized as the perceived low status of the nursing profession including disincentives of long working hours (Arif & Khokhar, 2017; Mackintosh, 1997) and low pay (Kluczyńska, 2017; Pham, 2013); gender dynamics within nursing such as the perceived feminization of the nursing profession (Genua, 2005; Klein, 2009); the fear of allegations due to touching of female patients (Harding, 2008); gender discrimination when working in a female‐dominated environment (Folami, 2017; Rajacich et al, 2013; Shen‐Miller & Smiler, 2015; Zamanzadeh, Valizadeh, Negarandeh, Monadi, & Azadi, 2013); and a lack of male role models (Meadus, 2000; Twomey & Meadus, 2016).…”

Challenges faced by student accoucheurs during clinical placement at the free state maternal health care institutions

“…The nursing managers in the Free State Province place accoucheurs on a rotational basis in the units such as casualty, intensive care and general units except in the maternal health care units. Folami15 attested to this by stating that male nurses were usually moved to technical areas such as operating theatres and emergency rooms because such areas appear more congruent with the masculine role of males. The lack of equal gender distribution in the Free State Province maternal health care institutions deprives pregnant women of exposure to the maternal health care services rendered by accoucheurs contributing to the resistance and discrimination against them.Therefore, student accoucheurs are faced with challenges in this unit leading to poor achievement of their required learning objectives.…”

Spectrum Allocation by Sealed Bid Game Theory

“…Game Theory is less time consuming and it is used heavily in the modern era [7].Game theory does not assume any knowledge of its players [8].The only way to appreciate game theory is to see it in action, or better still to put in into action [9].…”