Encouraging Men to Enter the Field of Child Care: What Can Be Done?

Child care has traditionally been viewed by society as “women's work”. However, men who work in child care programs help challenge stereotypes and allow children to view males from a different perspective. The question then becomes one of how to encourage men to enter the field of child care. This article examines a few of the obstacles that prevent men from working in child care centers and provides one man's story about how he came to work in a child care facility. This is followed by suggestions of ways men could be encouraged to enter and stay in the field of early childhood education.