Does gender determine job status

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I have heard that if a male and female RN apply for the same job, the male is more likely to get it (all else being equal)! If you agree or disagree please explain why or why not!?

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Big Red is this a school project?

I disagree. Each person is judged on their own merits.

Good post. Truly, I don't know the answer to this -- would depend on the hiring committee's point of view. Obviously there are more females in nursing than males -- so in many ways I believe that the manager would try to diversify the floor more by hiring the male.

Apparently there was a study that found males did advance more than females even when qualifications were equal, but I work with all women, so I can't say as a personal experience.

I have seen many instances where the male advanced more quickly than an equally qualified female. But proving this is discrimination is difficult. Through personal observation, my coworkers surmised our female manager enjoyed the men and tended to prefer them whenever she had to make a choice or decision to promote. The females suffered in silence and never spoke up about it so they must have felt they couldn't prove anything.

I wonder if most women nurses are the 'bread winners' in their families? I would think if any nurse was working for secondary income, they might not be as career oriented as thoughs working for their main source of income.

I am not saying that this is the case. But this train of thought might lead to some hiring a male nurse over a female nurse. Also, I think a lot has to do with what society has taught most of us, concerning gender roles, since we were young.

Either way you look at it, I am sure discrimination exists in the hiring process. It is really, really hard to look at applicants for any position in a totally objective manner.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I have a friend (man, nurse) who says that men are often favored for promotion because they treat their jobs more as careers than many women tend to. He says that men are more likely to engage in career-oriented behaviors, avoid "cat-like" gossip and whining, have better attendance records, take the lead in group situations, etc. -- all of which makes them more likely to earn a promotion over their female competitors.

While I am sure that discrimination does occur sometimes, I think there is also some truth to what my friend says. The men nurses I have worked with have seemed more career-focused and have sought greater responsibilities and career advancement opportunities in a more assertive kind of way than most of the women I have worked with.

Note that one of the other current threads is about leaving bedside nursing. Like the original poster of that thread, many women seek jobs that take them away from that entry-level bedside nurse position NOT because of a strong ambition for career advancement or the desire to do a particular job ... but because they want out of the staff nurse role, schedule, etc. It's not so much a purposeful move toward something, but rather a move away from something they no longer want to do. As they start thinking about leaving bedside nursing, they don't really know what they want to do instead. Many men, on the other hand, have a career plan ... a path toward something that they are purposely working to achieve.

Of course, there are many exceptions ... but it is a part of the big picture.

llg

looks good to have a quota...

but im also not a big fan of affirmative action.

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