Why are more teachers female than male?

Question

When I was in primary school I always found it weird how there were no male teachers. There was one when I reached middle school, but still, not many. Why is this?

Answer 1

Ay ay ay. I guess this is one instance why it is important to care about history!

When teaching began as a true profession began in the United States, the job market wasn't exactly a happen place for women, people of color, and for that matter, any one but land owning rich white men.

Seeing themselves with little alternatives to be able to work outside the home, many women went in droves to become teachers. Nursing was the only other profession truly open to women.

So over time, this profession became associated with women- but it was all for political and economic reasons, and certainly at the beginning. By the time women's rights movements were taking on speed, many women then decided to cling to their teaching positions as a sign of power.

It was only until much later, after civil rights movement, we began to see a few males move into the profession. But it has been historically seen (and advertised- explicitly at first, and now subtly through people's own sexist prejudices: "women are more nurturing, etc.") as a women's profession, so even today women, and white women, in particular, make up the majority of the teaching population. This is the case even in states as diverse as CA.

Hope this helps a little.

Answer 2

money

Answer 3

Teachers have been historically underpaid for the amount of responsibility and education required. For a sole provider the pay was often not adequate, things have improved alot but teaching is not thought of as a high paying profession.

Also teaching elementary school requires patience with and "mothering" of your often very needy students. I have found that the men who chose to teach are most often very good at their jobs, but most prefer to teach 6th grade and above.

Answer 4

well, i suppose women are more known to that kind of profession, which then draws them more.

for example, there are only a number of women who work in carpentry.

Answer 5

In recent times, I think more women go into teaching than men because of the low pay.  That is slowly changing, but in most places, it would be hard to support a family on what a teacher makes.  Shameful!  

Most of the male teachers I've known of during my career have had summer jobs or weekend jobs to supplement their income.  And years ago when it was considered more of a "choice" for a woman to work, the low pay was looked at as a supplement to the family income.  I know when my mother started teaching in 1968, she made around $2,000 a year.  Even then, not nearly enough to support a family.

I think more men are getting into teaching as a second career, after retiring from their "main" job, at least there were a lot of them in my master's program a few years back.

Answer 6

"It was only until much later, after civil rights movement, we began to see a few males move into the profession."

Holy c**p, that's a lot of misinformation!

So there were hardly any male teachers until 40 years ago??  Seriously?  Where's he getting this b.s.?

Teaching was, for a long time and in many parts of the world, an itinerant profession.  They used to travel around and stay with the families of the children they were teaching.  These teachers were all male...for obvious reasons; a woman on the road was not very reputable.

Teachers in the Greek tradition, in the Catholic tradition, in the elite prep school tradition -- these were all or mostly male, too.

I know I didn't answer why there are more women (mainly in the lower grades -- it evens out in high school), but I couldn't let incorrect info go unaddressed.  ;)

Answer 7

Traditionally, it has been the man's responsibility to provide for the family while the wife stays at home to raise the children - a teacher's salary can not support that.

The "rules" on this were pretty weird. It used to be if a woman wanted to teach she had to be unmarried. When married women were allowed to teach, they were required to "hide" any hint of sexuality.

True story: My friend's mom was a teacher when she was pregnant with him. Pregnant teachers were not allowed to teach - she & her husband needed the money so she couldn't quit her job. She hid the pregnancy by binding herself. This was 1963!

Answer 8

this is a sexists world we are living in.

Answer 9

Teaching isn't a very manly occupation. Plus women are better communicators anyway. Maybe women naturally go towards teaching and looking after younger people because of their maternal instincts.

Answer 10

I'm a teacher and I'm male, but your right. At my school there are 10 women and 3 men.

I don't know about your country but here, in this corner of the Mediterranean, teaching is rather pastoral in character and seen mostly as a female role. As it is in families where mothers are expected to bring up the children almost alone. Thankfully, things are changing and both parents are taking an active role in child upbringing, and so also in teaching professions every year we see more and more men.