28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

What’s on – with Men?

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

What’s on - with Men

The dismantling of a gender segregated labour market origins from

The four pillars of the European Employment Strategy: Employability, Entrepreneurship, Adaptability andEqual opportunities for women and men

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

What’s on – with Men?

The associated PhD project“Men and Care – why (not)”?

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men and Care – why (?)

Educations within the project• Social educator (BA)• Social and health care training programs• Assisting social and care worker

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

• Scenario• Political frames and objectives• Pertinent questions• Hypothesis • Empirical design • Tendencies and trends – research so far

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Scenario at random1. Demographic forecasts2. Expected increase in need for care 3. Social care and Health care – an expanding

‘business’4. Public and/or private service 5. Aging workforce 6. Intensified awareness of male representation in

education in general7. Care as a gender segregated field

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)1. Demographic forecasts

(Ref. ESF draft 2006 – 2013)Lesser to service more!

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)2.Expected increase in need for caree.g. care for elderly people

We simply live longer and have developed a system to minister almost any social and health related incident

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

3. Social care and Healthcare – an expanding ‘business’

Care is in demand – and care is demanding

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)4. Public and/or private service?

Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship

Care no longer is a public matter – care is a private matter as well!

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)5. Aging workforce

* social educators

* health care workers

We should ask ourselves how do we ensure the necessary influx of students to the educations in question, hence the necessary workforce?

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)6. Intensified awareness of youth

education and male representation within education

63 % of youths with no formal education are male!

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)6. Intensified awareness … continued.

The amount of young men with no education should give rise to concern!

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

Less than 15 % of the employeeswithin the care sector (i.e. children's care and basic social and health care) - are men.

Denmark has Europe's most

gender segregatedLabour market

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Summing up facts:

• Aging Denmark & Europe • Care sector increasing• Unskilled jobs disappear • Many young men without formal education • Aging workforce/retirement in the care sector• Public and private options for care

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)And once more:European Employment Strategy /National Reform Programs

• Work force • Education • Equality

The dismantling of agender segregated labour market

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

What's to be done, then?

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

Pertinent questions are therefore:

What influences and motivates …?

What are the reflections, expectations and considerations …?

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

Hypothesis

A series of filters …(push)

A series of magnets …(pull)

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

Assumed filters and magnets are:

• Counselling / guidance • Career possibilities• Recruitment policy

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

More filters and magnets are:

• Curriculum • Educational atmosphere and setting

(“An air of Care”)

The total wrapped up educational care package

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

More filters and magnets

• Care – in a public discourse• In service training

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

Empirical design & work • Interviews • Internet based survey

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?) Empirical work A + BA: Interviews with men- aiming at an education within care- educating within care- who opted out- working within care Interviews with interested parties (care)

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

Empirical work BSurvey

Internet based Enquiry in collaboration with CUBION

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)The interviews and the survey are e.g. directed towards

• Basic factors

• Influencing factors

• Counselling

• Desires for job or certain occupations

• Specific reactions to the education and the in-service-training

• Statements to confirm or dispute male attraction to care as a career

• Statements about “men in care” and prosperities for (more) “men in care”

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)

Preliminary Tendencies and Trends concerning:

• Wages • Masculinity and care in a male sense• Trigger events• Desires for jobs• Entrepreneurial ideas

• Being a ‘defined minority’ • Recommending the education to others• What has ‘care’ to offer – how create attention?

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

• Wages “..wages are miserable”..

“..everybody talks of the payment; it should be increased. Not too much, I think, we are not in it for the money. If payment is increased you’ll get people who chooses it

for the money..

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

• Masculinity and care in a male sense!

Some of my friends thought I’d lost it, when I told them I was going to educate within care!..

It is very rewarding to learn about life – and about oneself..

We focus on resources – we rarely cry along with the clients..

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

• Trigger events

..I had a heart attack from stress (executive job) and decided to go back to my former occupation – working with mentally disabled. This is it – this is my vocation!

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

• Desires for jobs

..I shall definitely choose to work with young people who have either social or abuse problems..

.. I want to shred a little light..

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

• Entrepreneurial ideas

I have thought of: • Producing interesting toys..• Helping young overweight boys and girls..• Establishing a family house..• A refugee for homeless/or abusers • Assisting youths with a criminal record

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

• Being a defined minority

All the books are pink!I sometimes feel lonely.But I do not want to be victimized !..

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

•Recommending the education to others

..indeed; the prospects are so very good ..

..I might, but men must be well aware of the feminine majority..

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

• What has ‘care’ to offer – how create attention?

..I’m puzzled by young people. They demand work content – why don’t they choose care, then?

..I never knew the education had all this to it!

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care, why (not?)Preliminary Tendencies and Trends

Summing it all up:• Men are (obviously) interested in

educations within care• It is possible to identify/verify filters and

magnets • Entrepreneurial approach/ideas• Clear cut vision of future within care• Mapping out yet to be done

28. september Ulla Gerner Wohlgemuth

Men in care – indeed!