Women Teachers in Canada: Gender, Power, and the Profession

Introduction and Research Questions

The early development of the teaching profession in Canada favored the subordination of female teachers and the advancement of male teachers to positions of administrative authority. The objective of this paper is to examine this issue and to answer two specific research questions: (1) What factors contributed to this pattern? (2) To what extent has the pattern changed, and what factors have contributed to that change — or to the lack thereof?

The methodology employed in this study is qualitative in nature and is conducted through a review of the literature found in peer-reviewed academic articles and journals, books, and other relevant publications.

The Feminization of Teaching and Gender Stereotyping

Underrepresentation of Women in a "Feminized" Profession

The work "The Under Representation of Women in a 'Feminized' Profession: Gender Stereotyping, Management Politics, and the Dissemination of Information," published in the Dalhousie Journal of Information and Management, addresses gender role stereotyping and professions considered feminized — such as teaching, nursing, and, in the specific case discussed by Bird, librarianship:

"Gender role stereotyping and feminized professions are directly connected, as each stereotype is integral to the perpetuation of the other. Librarianship is not the only feminized profession; women are also predominantly associated with teaching and nursing, and all three professions share similar characteristics. Generally, these professions require women to be caregivers, to educate, to chaperone children, to exhibit unyielding patience, and to be subservient. This is similar to the roles that women played as housewives prior to the majority of women vacating the sole roles of wife and mother and entering the workforce." (Bird, 2007)

A Genteel Calling and an Extension of Traditional Roles

According to Bird (2007), the move of women from the home to positions of employment such as librarians and teachers was viewed "as a genteel calling and an extension of women's traditional role because it involved service, transmittal of societal values and culture, focus on the individual and attention to detail" (p. 1).

Bird (2007) further argues that the roles of working women have been vastly "undervalued, as have the stereotypical values associated with femininity: patience, acquiescence, horizontal consensus (as opposed to vertical hierarchies, which are associated with men), and the need for validation. This devaluation of women and of the roles of women in the workforce is not due to socially constructed biological inadequacies in 'femininity'; the devaluation of women is due to patriarchal ideologies." Research cited by Bird also demonstrates "different leadership and management styles between men and women," with comparable findings across studies.

Bird notes an additional dimension of gender stereotyping: men themselves regularly stereotype the sexual orientation of male members of feminized professions. As Bird explains, "Male librarians…seem to believe that there is a greater proportion of gay men in the profession than in society at large" (Carmichael, 1994, p. 227). Bird attributes this stereotype to the broader perception that librarianship — and by extension other feminized professions — is inherently feminine, implying that men who enter such fields must exhibit traits deemed atypical in men. Bird further states that variations in management styles between men and women "are attributed primarily to socially constructed, patriarchal ideologies that elevate men into positions of power over women" (2007).