Managing Equality and Diversity, Part 8: Gender - In the balance

'Your odds are stacked against you if you employ a man. We know paedophiles are attracted to working with children. I’m sorry, but they’re the facts.’ These comments from former leader of the House of Commons and two-time candidate for leader of the Conservative Party Andrea Leadsom outraged early years practitioners when she made them in 2016. A source close to her later said she had not suggested men could not be good nannies. Sadly the sexist comments, which fly in the face of the Equality Act 2010, are views that some parents share.

Societal perceptions of men in childcare are quoted as one of the reasons so few choose the profession. Only around 2 per cent of the early years workforce are male. However, inclusive early education can only be truly achieved when delivered by a gender-balanced workforce. In Gender Diversity and Inclusion in Early Years Education, Kath Tayler and Deborah Price suggest men and women working alongside each other ‘can only be beneficial for children as it shows them that bringing up the next generation is a job that women and men share equally and that it is valued by society’.

They recommend managers create a ‘whole staff ethos’ to work in a sensitive way around gender issues, such as including gender in a setting’s vision statement.

London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) senior programme manager for learning and development Gary Simpson experienced discrimination as a Reception class teacher. When a parent requested their child be placed in a different classroom from the one in which he worked, so he could not touch them, the head teacher agreed. Mr Simpson left his job as a result. ‘I was told they were trying to protect me,’ he says. ‘But their action just confirmed they thought something needed to be put in place.’

LEYF chief executive June O’Sullivan, who has campaigned for more men to work in childcare, says bosses must back male colleagues. Research conducted by the organisation suggests nurseries do not use language in job adverts that appeals to male candidates. She says managers need to make an extra effort to support men, by hiring them in pairs and ensuring male apprentices have male mentors.

‘It’s actually quite cliquey coming into a group of young women,’ she says. She also warns against stereotypes: that men must do all the rough-and-tumble play, that men can support children of a single mother, or that men are good at DIY. ‘If you’re the one man, and you’ve got to be all of those things, and if you’re none of those things, then it’s pretty tough,’ she says. ‘Nursery workers have to be more sensitive. A lot wear a male member of staff like a badge of honour,’ she adds.

A study published by LEYF and the University of Wolverhampton in 2018 highlighted that simply having a male in a setting was not a solution, as practitioners could still unconsciously express gendered stereotypical behaviours.

‘In nurseries where a teacher is “good at something”, that person is often left to do that activity, such as gardening,’ states the report. ‘While this is neither right or wrong, children need to see both male and female teachers engaging in all activities – particularly those where there is a perception of an activity being better suited to either girls or boys.’

Husband and wife childminding businesses can offer a more balanced gender experience. Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years policy and research manager Susanna Kalitowski says the number of men choosing to be childminders is also increasing. ‘They are mostly dads,’ she says. ‘But ultimately until the sector is better paid it’s hard to see how you’re going to bring more men into it. Most of the research on this shows that in countries that have better pay, they have more men.’

Providing a gender-balanced curriculum is also important to ensure all children’s needs are equally met. Research has found children’s environments are ‘highly gendered’. The Children’s Society found in 2018 that, ‘Children were aware of different expectations for boys and girls from a young age: they felt that being good-looking, being caring and having good clothes were more important for a girl, and being tough and funny were more important for a boy… Children who felt their friends would say that being tough is important in a boy and having good clothes is important in a girl had lower well-being.’

Dr Laura Charlton, principal clinical psychologist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), says many under-fives cross the societal expectations that are set around masculine or feminine preferences because they are only beginning to learn about social expectations.

‘These boundaries can be unhelpful and stifling, and in some extreme cases create an experience that leads to the child feeling ashamed about how they feel and what they like,’ she says. ‘Early years settings can support the development of younger children by offering lots of methods of expression through play and dressing up, being mindful to not close down opportunities, such as labelling toys as girls’ or boys’ toys, or making assumptions about the play preferences of boys and girls such as active boys climbing trees versus girls having a tea party. This way, irrespective of gender, children learn that what they like is OK.’

GIDS is a specialist national service for children and families who experience difficulties in gender development. Dr Charlton says this is uncommon among under-fives – the unit only received ten referrals among this age group in 2018/19. ‘Many children at this age identify the gender of another child by the length of their hair,’ she says.

Children may, however, need support if a member of the early years staff, a parent or family member goes through gender transition. Early Years Equality CEO Chrissy Meleady says, as with including lesbian, gay and bisexual issues in early years settings, practitioners can be fearful of parental backlash for including transgender identities. But she advises the best way to create inclusive communities is to be open.

‘This approach could mean other children – and other adults – become more aware of what it is to be trans and contribute to a more positive and accepting early years community, where all children and their families, through setting co-production learning, are aware that different people identify their gender differently, and these choices should be celebrated,’ she says.

Dr Charlton adds that staff may have difficult questions to answer from children in such situations, but should be clear about what is personal and private. ‘Reassure them that this staff member is still the same person and nothing much has changed for them; they will still be looked after in the same way,’ she says.

Reflective questions:

1. Are you actively looking to recruit both men and women?

2. Do you regularly review your resources and activities for stereotypical portrayals of gender?

3. Do you discuss concepts of gender in an open way with your team?

case study: Tobie Keel, 26, manager of First Friends Day Nursery

first male winner of the National Day Nursery Association’s Manager of the Year award (2019)

After leaving school I studied cookery and became a cook at the nursery I now manage. After a year I started spending time with the children and thought maybe childcare was a job I could do. My manager encouraged me to do a childcare NVQ. After a year I was a Level 2. I moved up from there.

It was hard to get my head around at first. It was so female-orientated. But the staff were supportive. I was a bit of a novelty for the children. I thought the boys took to me quickly.

Parents have been positive, but one mother wouldn’t let me change her child. She had been in an abusive relationship and found it hard to trust men. I could understand her perspective, but it was a sticky period for me. Thankfully over time I built her confidence and became her child’s key person. As a man in childcare, you have to be understanding and laid back about such things.

Now I manage a team of all-female staff, but I don’t see that as different from other forms of management. When it comes to social occasions, we do neutral activities. We organised a hen party for one of our colleagues and I went along too.

I want to encourage other young men to go into childcare. I’m contacting local colleges to see if I can go in and share my story. The barriers to working here come from outside the sector – how your mates will perceive you. Once you’re in the sector, everyone is accepting.

The law, the EYFS and the EIF

• Equality Act 2010 – Sex and gender reassignment are both protected characteristics, meaning an employer cannot discriminate against an employee or child because of their gender or if they are transsexual.
• Early Years Foundation Stage – Does not specifically mention gender, but says practitioners must ensure ‘every child is included and supported’.
• Ofsted Education Inspection Framework – The September 2019 framework also does not mention gender, but states that providers must comply with the Equality Act and challenge stereotypical behaviour.