Korean J Occup Health Nurs.  2022 May;31(2):43-56. 10.5807/kjohn.2022.31.2.43.

Male Nurses’ Experiences of Workplace Gender Discrimination

• Chang HE
• Woo CH

• KMID: 2537010
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5807/kjohn.2022.31.2.43

Abstract

Purpose
This study was conducted to explore male nurses’ experiences of gender discrimination at the workplace using qualitative research methods.
Methods
Participants responded to a survey using an online link, and were asked to describe their overall experiences by responding to the question “Please freely describe your experiences of workplace gender discrimination”. The qualitative data collected from 118 participants were analyzed using Krippendorff’s technique. Data collection was caried out from June 11, 2019, to August 3, 2020.
Results
Eleven themes and 24 subthemes were extracted from a total of 277 meaningful statements. Male nurses’experiences of workplace gender discrimination, reasons of gender discrimination, and improvement strategies were presented through the key themes.
Conclusion
Male nurses experienced workplace gender discrimination from patients, colleagues, and institutions. Furthermore, strategies to improve gender stereotypes and to emphasize the strengths of male nurses are necessary in order to increase the number of male nurses in the female-dominant nursing field and to reduce job turnover. These strategies will help expand the social role of nurses as professionals and improve the work environment and benefits for all nurses.

Keyword

Male nurses; Gender discrimination; Sexual harassment; Gender roles; Qualitative research