Men are climbing the nursing career ladder much quicker than women, despite the fact that most women have longer experience in the profession and better nursing qualifications, according to new research from the independent Policy Studies Institute.The report, commissioned by the Department of Health, shows that men were twice as likely as women to be serving in the higher nursing grades.
Gender Inequalities in Nursing Careers, by Louise R Finlayson and James Y Nazroo, is based on the largest ever survey of nurses employed by the NHS in England and Wales, which was conducted in 1994. The report documents the full extent of men's career advantage within nursing and explores the importance of various factors in explaining the influence of gender on the career paths of nurses.
Among its key findings:
- men were significantly more likely to be found in the higher nursing grades than female nurses. Among registered nurses, the advantage that men had increased the higher up the career ladder they went - they were twice as likely as women to be in the senior H and I grades.
- despite this, female registered nurses had better post-basic nursing qualifications than equivalent male nurses and were just as likely as men to be orientated towards a career in nursing.
- male nurses were more likely than women to expect to move to a better job in the near future.
- women were more likely than men to work in specialisms with limited chances for promotion, such as community nursing, whilst men were more likely to work in mental illness and disability.
- female nurses were considerably more likely to have taken a career break from employment and were ten times more likely than male nurses to have taken a career break to have children.
- 45 per cent of female nurses worked part-time compared with just 5 per cent of men
- qualified female nurses felt more restricted than qualified men in their ability to take paid time off work, to go on training courses and to get course fees paid.
- of the ‘family-friendly’ shift patterns available to nurses, only those that involved part-time work or nights-only work were more frequently used by women with children than by men.
- Parents felt that the childcare facilities offered by their employers were unsatisfactory.
Detailed analyses showed that organisational barriers to career progression, such as taking career breaks, working in ‘family-friendly’ nursing specialisms and working part-time were at the root of much of the disadvantage experienced by women. Direct discrimination against women in the nursing profession could not be ruled out, although the authors could not be confident of its extent nor the degree of influence it exerted.
In order to deal with gender inequalities in the nursing profession, the authors conclude that four crucial factors must be addressed:
- the unduly negative impact of career breaks on the chances of career progression;
- the lack of opportunities for part-time work in senior posts;
- the lack of opportunities for promotion from the specialities within which women are more likely to be located; and
- the great inadequacy of childcare provision by both NHS employers and more widely.
Louise Finlayson, co-author of the report, said
'the report suggests that the problem of gender inequalities in nursing careers is more fundamental than shattering the "glass ceiling". Disadvantage for women is present at relatively junior positions and becomes greater as seniority increases'.James Nazroo added
'Organisational barriers, in particular taking career breaks and working part-time, play a large and important role in the disadvantage faced by women, and direct discrimination could not be ruled out.'Contact details: PSI Publications Department on 0171 468 2201 (for review copy)
Notes to Editors:
- Gender Inequalities in Nursing Careers by Louise R Finlayson and James Y Nazroo is published by the Policy Studies Institute and is available from Grantham Books on 01476 541 080, priced £14.95, ISBN 0 85374 729 6.
- The survey collected information from 14,330 nurses, midwives and auxiliary staff. The survey is representative of both qualified and unqualified nurses and represents the breadth of the nursing grading structure from A to I.
- Louise Finlayson is a Research Fellow in the Social Policy Research Group at the Policy Studies Institute. James Nazroo was a Senior Research Fellow at the Policy Studies Institute when this research was carried out. He is now a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London.
- PSI is a registered educational charity (no. 313819) and has no association with any political party, pressure group or commercial interest.
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