SOCIAL WORK IS 'WOMEN'S WORK': AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF GENDER AS A CAREER CHOICE DETERMINANT

Abstract

Caring professions such as nursing, teaching and social work have been traditionally viewed as feminine. Consequently, men’s entry into these professions has been challenging. Like women who enter historically masculine professions, these men experience social and cultural sanctions, which lead to tension, resulting in a questioning of their masculinity. Through in-depth interviews, this article explores the factors that influence social work students’ career choices. Statistics are also presented to show how gender is signified in the profession. Gender, socio-economic factors, the social work bursary, and limited career options were found to influence women and men in choosing to take-up social work as a career. Moreover, gender was found to play a significant role in how the profession is regarded and talked about. The article concludes that a better understanding of the gender dynamics at play in influencing these choices will allow for an improvement in the recruitment and retention strategies in the profession.

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