The thesis deals with the roles and positions of male professionals employed at the social work centers. In the field of social work, male professionals remain in a minority. Most men enter the field of social work without prior planning. Due to the lack of male employees in the field of social work, men are more sought after and therefore have more advantages in employment. Higher symbolic status allows men to advance towards leadership positions faster than their female colleagues. Nevertheless, the additional burdens that the leading position brings deter some men from pursuing it. The factors that hinder men from entering the field of social work the most are: low salary, low status, gender stereotypes, lack of work results, insufficient promotion of social work centers, and fear of encountering negative reactions from their environment. Measures that could boost male employment in the field of social work are: higher wages, the enablement of secure and long-term employment, better presentation of work results, the introduction of employment quotas, and gender sensitive career counseling. Male professionals face less discrimination and have more privileges than their female colleagues. Clients, co-workers, as well as superiors, attribute a higher status to male professionals. This is also one of the reasons why many male professionals have a greater sense of security from violent clients than their female colleagues. Male workers have an advantage in working with male clients. On the other hand, their gender may hinder them from working with female clients who have been victims of abuse. Most male professionals feel integrated into a collective. The majority of them also have positive relationship with their superiors, which is usually unaffected by their gender. Superiors favor them more often than they discriminate against them. Most male professionals do not feel any less masculine or inferior because of working in a non-traditional male profession. Most of them are convinced that their profession does not affect their perception of masculinity. Most of them do not often encounter negative reactions from the environment due to their profession. Those who have already received negative reactions have mostly received them from other men. Male professionals very often enter into stereotypical roles, which most of them do not mind. These roles usually consist of technical tasks and interventions in critical situations. Most male professionals have trouble defining masculinity. They describe it in a very general way. Their definitions are usually based on stereotypical gender roles. There is a need to encourage more men to seek employment in the field of social work, mostly to improve professionalism and efficiency in the field. Therefore, the introduction of gender-based employment quotas within the profession should be considered. Gender-sensitive career counseling should also be promoted in primary schools. Additionally, we need to encourage male professionals to face their privileges within their profession, and to stand up for the rights of their female colleagues.
|
