Breaking gender stereotypes: The HR challenge of attracting men to care

In Australia, frontline care work continues to be a predominantly female sector, with male workers accounting for only 20 per cent of the healthcare and social assistance labour force, studies have found.

New research from Monash University has discovered that barriers to men’s participation in frontline care work are largely driven by structural and economic barriers, refuting the long-held belief that men refrain from care work due to conflicts with masculine identity.

The investigation, conducted by Monash University in conjunction with the University of Sydney, involved a series of interviews with 41 male participants, conducted via 13 initial focus groups and supplemented by 32 subsequent individual sessions.

These focus groups examined the lived experiences of men within low-wage care environments, specifically probing the inherent challenges and professional gratifications, entry points into the industry, drivers of workforce retention, public attitudes towards male caregivers, and the negotiation of masculine identity within these spaces.

The findings highlighted two core barriers to men’s engagement in frontline care work: low and insecure pay, and a widespread lack of understanding about the nature and complexity of the work.

A consensus emerged among those interviewed that the remuneration for frontline care positions remains insufficient, coupled with a notable deficiency in the professional recognition and esteem granted to the role.

Such factors provide minimal incentives for males to join the profession, with healthcare recruitment agencies struggling with significant talent shortages and retention challenges. Better pay, working conditions, and workforce strategies are needed to attract and retain care workers.

Professor Steven Roberts, lead researcher at Monash University, highlighted that the university’s study offered vital perspectives on how men join and persist in the industry, while identifying methods to foster more diverse engagement.

“The men we spoke to were not grappling with care work as a threat to their masculinity; they were grappling with insecure hours, low wages, and a labour market still shaped by gendered assumptions about whose income is expected to support a household,” Roberts said.

HR Leader interviewed Roberts regarding the situation from a human resources standpoint, to which he noted that the sector has an important role to play in challenging gender stereotypes and creating conditions that make the care work sector an attractive and sustainable career for everyone.

“HR has an important role to play, but I don’t think the answer is to somehow redesign care work to appeal to men,” Roberts said.

“Part of the challenge is changing the very persistent idea that caring is naturally women’s work.

“Recruitment can help with that by making men more visible in these roles and by talking about care as skilled, meaningful work with real career opportunities.”

Roberts also spoke to the fact that from an economic perspective, males are not attracted to the care sector, compared to others that provide more income.

“Attracting men is only half the story; if we want people to stay, these need to be good jobs, decent pay, secure work, manageable workloads, good supervision and clear opportunities to progress,” Roberts said.

“Those things might help bring more men into care, but they would also make the sector better for the women who already make up most of its workforce.

“For me, the goal isn’t to make care more masculine, but instead to make it more normal for men to care, while making care work better and more valued for everyone.”

Furthermore, beyond improving workplace conditions, Roberts argued that changing perceptions of care work must begin earlier, particularly through education and career awareness initiatives.

“Most people only encounter care work when they need it, which means they rarely see the skill, judgement and complexity involved,” Roberts said.

“If we want more men in care, we need to fix the conditions of care work – and we need to start earlier.

“Introducing young people to the realities and value of care work while they’re still in school could be one of the most effective ways to expand the future workforce.”

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