Men as Social Workers: Gender, Identity, and Career Choice

Introduction: Gender and Social Work

Social work is a field that requires special abilities from those who choose it as a profession. These abilities — compassion, empathy, and sensitivity — are culturally associated with women, which forms the basis for the widespread assumption that social work is a more suitable profession for women. However, men choose to become social workers too. This paper explores why some men choose social work while others consider it an entirely inappropriate profession for men.

To investigate this question, a qualitative study was conducted, based on an in-depth interview with an experienced male psychiatric social worker. These methods were selected as the most relevant for addressing this subject. The results were not entirely consistent with initial expectations: more dimensions of the problem emerged than anticipated. In conclusion, the evidence shows that men who become social workers — even if they are considered intruders into a women's territory — are not anomalous individuals, as some believe, but people who choose this work for many of the same reasons women do.

The personal view advanced here is that men are as valuable as social workers as any woman working in this field. Experience and the willingness to help others matter most — not gender. The subject of gender differences in social work is worth researching precisely because of its connection to the everyday human differences and preconceptions we hold about which jobs are suitable for which gender.

Men as social workers have been studied by feminist writers and others. Christie (2001), in Men and Social Work, approaches the subject by examining how men can be integrated into social work, what specific contributions they can make, and what particular challenges they face when entering this predominantly female professional territory.

The most interesting aspect of this topic is the process by which a man becomes a social worker: the experiences that contribute to that decision, and conversely, the reasons that keep many men from choosing this profession. The study is grounded primarily in a qualitative interview and supplemented by relevant scholarly literature. For interpretation, narrative analysis was selected as the most appropriate method, given its chronological approach to evaluating past experiences and their influence on present and future life choices.

Historical Context and Gender Dynamics in Social Work

Social work is a field where women have historically dominated. Created and shaped by women, it is a profession into which men have had relatively few opportunities to enter — and even fewer to succeed. As Britton and Stoller (1998) observe:

"Throughout the history of social work, women, buttressing the profession through their talents and energy, have comprised the majority of workers (Trattner, 1989). In fact, many more women than men have sought graduate degrees in social work. Apparently, opportunities for women to pursue both careers and advanced degrees have expanded especially in the last thirty years while men continue to avoid entering a field associated with women. To legitimize social work as a profession, early leaders in social work — including Mary Richmond and Sophonisba Breckinridge — recruited men to augment the power, prestige, and status associated with social work (Williams, 1995). Men in social work, although few in number, still acquire a uniquely unearned prestige within the field and find themselves propelled to the traditional, high-profile administrative roles. Historically, they have been earmarked for these administrative roles to fulfil both macro systemic expectations and gender role definitions (Baines, 1991). Propagated in the inherent expectations within social work's 'organizational culture' and its history, the field sustains segregation as men tend to enter administrative and policy-oriented tracks (Christie, 1998)." (Britton & Stoller, 1998)

As this passage makes clear, men in everyday life carry a socially prescribed status that pressures them toward particular career paths. Other options are automatically treated as a wrong turn, which is not an encouraging situation for those who genuinely see social work as their calling. Men who have already chosen this career face ongoing questions about their identity precisely because they represent the opposed gender in a female-dominated profession. The issue is not about having done something wrong, but about the image they project in the eyes of others.

As Christie (2001) notes, drawing on Williams (1993): "Working with children, I frequently found myself to be the only man at case reviews, planning, or referral meetings. Sitting in a review in which I was the only man reminded me that I had chosen to work in a non-traditional occupation for men. Research on men who do 'women's work' has shown that they are far less likely to aspire to work in such fields in the first place, but if they do, then they may be suspected of not being a real man."

People are simply unaccustomed to seeing men as social workers, and restrictive reactions are, from this perspective, understandable. Gender differences have always existed and persist even where formal equality between the sexes is widely accepted. Society has not yet fully adjusted to accepting the other gender's traditional roles, particularly when men are concerned. As Chattopadhay (2004) writes: "Because of gender stereotypes, men are also missing a whole range of emotions and experiences that are immensely rewarding and socially valued. For example, in most cultures men are not expected to play a significant role in caring for children, or for sick parents, or to show affection and express their vulnerabilities in distress, since these qualities are typically assigned to women. Moving toward gender equality does not mean loss of masculinity. It does mean that men as a group will be able to share and be part of a broader, healthier, safer, and richer cultural experience."

Barriers Men Face in Entering Social Work

Because of these entrenched preconceptions, a man who pursues a career different from what society expects of him will almost inevitably encounter difficulties. Britton and Stoller (1998) describe this dynamic clearly:

"Male social workers must subvert traditionally defined and socially normed male roles. When a man chooses to enter female-dominated professions, he may still incur stigmas that differentiate him from other males. Those who choose to enter the field may experience a 'discrepancy strain' — a failure to live up to the standards, expectations, and norms of their traditional gender roles (Gilbert & Scher, 1999, p. 108). As one male student relates: 'I can remember a conversation with my father before I made my decision to get a master's in social work. While he supported me in my endeavors, he raised many questions — Why do you want to enter social work? How do you think you are going to provide for your family and the lifestyle you are accustomed to?' Deferring to socialization pressures that still impel them to fulfill the 'breadwinner' role and avoid feminine characteristics, they may segregate themselves from women in the profession, selecting specialties or positions that society deems as more appropriate for men (Williams, 1995). They too may emphasize the masculine aspects of their jobs to 'reduce the dissonance between their professional and gender identities' and to justify their career choices (Christie, 1998, p. 506). Thereby, male social workers adhere more closely to the social definition of masculinity."

Despite these pressures, younger men entering social work hope to push through these barriers. Britton and Stoller (1998) note that such individuals "hope to advance research and social work services for men to circumvent the social and internal barriers to their full involvement with families and equal partnerships with their spouses. Our views seek to foster a shift in the social construction of gender roles and expectations, a shift toward gender equity."

Conclusion: Toward Gender Equality in Social Work

To understand why men choose to become social workers, we must focus on the continuous change not only in the nature of social work itself, but in men's nature too. There are relatively few studies on male social workers, and men's presence in this profession is still developing — but with real potential to become more fully recognized.

Gillingham (2006) identifies three reasons for the scarcity of research in this area: "First, the simplest reason might be that male social workers in child and family welfare are such a minority that they are not of sufficient interest for research. Second, support for such research may be restricted by the debate about the involvement of male social workers in direct practice in child and family welfare: both from organizations that employ male social workers (not wanting to enter the debate) and from male social workers (embattled as they are in dealing with challenges about their motivations). Third, male social workers in the field of child and family welfare present a challenge to traditional models of masculinity, and any research in this area is likely to become entangled in much broader debates about what it means to be male. This avoidance of the broader issue of masculinity is exemplified by much of the research to date that focuses on why men choose not to practice in this area, rather than why some do."

Gender equality has been extensively studied, and many solutions have been proposed, but translating them into practice remains the harder challenge. As Chattopadhay (2004) concludes: "A fundamental benefit for men and women of living in gender equality is to live in a world where arbitrary inequalities of all kinds are rejected. Thus, although there could be short-term struggles, in the long term both men and women benefit when society is gender equal."

Ultimately, this study affirms that men who enter social work do so not out of confusion or inadequacy, but out of genuine empathy, a desire to help, and — as the interview evidence suggests — a deep motivation to understand and work with people. Gender does not determine the quality of a social worker; commitment, experience, and human connection do. The field stands to benefit from embracing both men and women as equally capable contributors to this vital profession. Social work as a discipline continues to evolve, and a more gender-inclusive understanding of who can practice it effectively is part of that evolution.

Britton, J. & Stoller, M. (Autumn 1998). Engendered disparity: Males in social work. The Advocate's Forum, 5(1). Retrieved December 6, 2006, from

Chattopadhay, T. (2004). Role of men and boys in promoting gender equality: Advocacy brief. Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL), UNESCO Bangkok. Retrieved December 6, 2006, from

Christie, A. (2001). Men and social work. New York, NY: Palgrave Publishers. Retrieved December 3, 2006, from

Gillingham, P. (January 2006). Male social workers in child and family welfare: New directions for research. Social Work, 51(1).

Pease, B. (2001). Developing profeminist practice with men in social work. Critical Social Work, 2(1). Retrieved December 6, 2006, from http://www.criticalsocialwork.com