Attitudes and Stereotypes of Male and Female Nurses: The Influence of Social Roles and Ambivalent Sexism

Social role theory proposed that the gendered division of labor leads to the development of gender stereotypes that are consistent with the social roles that men and women frequently occupy. According to ambivalent sexism, gender prejudices stem in part from an unequal distribution of power and status. These theories appear particularly relevant to nursing because (a) the majority of nurses in Canada are women, (b) many male nurses report stigmatizing experiences and gender-based occupational barriers, yet (c) men are overrepresented in the higher paying or more "masculine" aspects of the job. Nursing and non-nursing students (N = 145) from a small Canadian university reported their attitudes and stereotypes of male and female nurses. Regression analyses revealed that female nursing students generally reported more positive attitudes and stereotypes of both male and female nurses than did the male or female non-nursing students. Participants scoring higher (vs. lower) in benevolent sexism or lower (vs. higher) in hostile sexism reported more positive attitudes toward female nurses. In addition, participants scoring higher in hostile sexism reported more negative stereotypes of male and female nurses than did participants scoring lower in hostile sexism. The implications of men entering an occupation currently dominated by women, and how that might challenge existing justifications for inequalities in power and status, will be discussed. La théorie du rôle social suggère que la division du travail selon les genres mène au développement de stéréotypes sexuels qui correspondent aux rôles sociaux que les femmes et les hommes accomplissent fréquemment. Selon le sexisme ambivalent, les préjugés sexistes découlent en partie d'une répartition inégale du pouvoir et du statut social. Ces théories semblent particulièrement pertinentes dans le cas des soins infirmiers, puisque a) la majorité des membres de cette profession au Canada sont des femmes; b) de nombreux infirmiers rapportent des expériences marquantes et des obstacles fondés sur le sexe; c) et pourtant, il y a une surreprésentation d'hommes dans les volets les mieux rémunérés ou les plus « masculins » du domaine. On a demandé à des étudiants en soins infirmiers et dans d'autres domaines (N = 145) d'une petite université au Canada de consigner leurs attitudes et leurs stéréotypes se rapportant aux infirmières et aux infirmiers. Des analyses de régression ont révélé que les étudiantes en soins infirmiers rapp