Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The term gendered professions denotes that gender meanings are inscribed in the construction and changes of professions, historically and at present. Professions are established and change in a social context that mainly draws on a prevailing gender ideology, supported by extensive gender segregation within and between the professions as well as through everyday interaction. Society at large perceives the gendered division of labor in and between the professions as the “natural” order of things, assuming that special fields or tasks are representative of the skills and characteristics each sex possesses. Historically, the term profession was reserved for a select number of male-dominated occupations, such as medicine, law, and clergy. More recently, professions that are women dominated, such as nursing or teaching, are perceived as having fewer of the characteristics that are seen to define a profession and were therefore defined as “semi-professions” ( Carr-Saunders & Wilson 1933 ; Etzioni 1969 ) or “aspiring professions” ( Bolton & Muzio 2008 ). However, the concept of profession refers to a male-gendered individual, but is seemingly disembodied in the sense that the professional traits are not obviously related to the individual's sex/gender. Despite research and criticisms, the concept of profession is still assumed to be today gender neutral. Since the 1970s feminist ... log in or subscribe to read full text