Almost all the teachers in pre-primary education in the EU in 2023 were female, accounting for 95.3% of the total; Highest shares in Romania (99.7%)

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by NanorH

39 comments
  1. that is highly unsettling, EU should step in and fix this inequality

    there should be 50% quotas for men to teach in schools

  2. These numbers are crazy. If it was reversed there would be crys to end it ASAP via government intervention.

    Boys no longer have any male role model outside of their father (if there is one) unless they are in some sort of sport. 

  3. Thats completely normal, man and woman choose different options and thats normal and from the nature of humans work

  4. Here in Spain there are hundreds of women simply waiting to get in via “examen de oposición” and  in the meantime thay take side jobs or part time jobs and have no real income security in the meantime. This could be years and years. Then they are set for life and unfireable when they finally get a “plaza”. Which society is 100% on with. 

    On the other a man is seen as lazy and useless if he does the same. He cannot go from odd job to odd job just waiting for the chance to get a job. And in regards to finding a partner it is nearly impsible if they don’t have steady income as it is a “social proof” that you are worth something… 

    We need to think about how we are structuring society

  5. Pre-primary education teachers? This is more like daycare centres for babies and toddlers right?

  6. People are already misunderstanding this. This is not about schools. This is pre-primary education. Kindergarten.

  7. Men could do these jobs if they wanted to, they don’t.
    They tend to be some of the worst paid and undervalued positions available, certainly where I’m from.

  8. Let them, we’re talking about 2-5 years old here, what’s the drama about?

  9. I am not saying this is representative, as it is only my experience, and this was not the sole reason I have not ended up as a primary school teacher.

    But when I was studying to be one, it was shocking how many people made ped0phile jokes about me. Just because I’m a guy who wanted to work with small kids. And frankly, it was bothering me. I went on field practice with 3rd graders. I remember one day kids started to hug me because they somehow thought I smell of cookies. They were very sweet. (It felt especially welcoming because I was just there as a temp, and I was happy that they accepted me.) But when I said this to other people, they started to make ped0 jokes.

    I want to emphasize again, that this was not the sole reason I have not become a teacher. The main reason was probably money. I simply cannot afford living on that wage as I have no support net besides my job. But it made me feel very uncomfortable how many people made fun of me for working with small kids as a man.

    Finally I also want to add that I was in my early twenties at that time. Probably now (late thirties) I would be more resistant to this kind of talk, but at that time it was hurtful.

    To be honest it’s a pity because it is something I would have done with a passion. But my circumstances were not right for this.

  10. Being paid minimum wage to look after 30 screaming, sick and unruly 2 to 5 year olds?

    Yeah, not for me thanks.

  11. Sociologist here. There are a lot of studies that show that the feminization of an occupation leads to a decrease in prestige/status, which is very important for most males in their selection process. So what to an extent has always been true in pre-primary education (a majority of women), is now also apparent in primary and secondary education (where teachers were predominantly male throughout history). To the men who cry ‘inequality!’: absolutely. Change it, and become a pre-primary education staff member or a teacher. Oh, and we should pay these people better, because being surrounded constantly by 25 small children without mentally breaking down is a super power.

  12. So how is the quota in jobs like garbage collector?
    Brick layer? Midwife?

    I am pretty sure all of them are either 95+% male or female.

    Why should this be a problem?

  13. The “omg equality brigade” need to calm down a bit. Why do you think kindergartens and daycares employ mostly women?

    Hell, even if I wanted to I’d be super on the fence taking on such a job. Can you imagine – 12-24 screaming, crying, needing help to feed, go to the toilet, bathe, clean, little devils, running around trying to figure out a new and ingenious way to inflict pain on themselves or others? And on top of that you get paid peanuts.

  14. Where’s the outrage from the feminists? We need equal representation and we need it now. 🤣🤣🤣

  15. It’s not a hidden thing that primary education and earlier openly discriminates against dudes. You wont find this in any other profession that does it to this extent. My partner worked in a nursery and it was a rule that no male staff werent to be left alone with kids either as a class or individually. Even though they only had 1. Society likes to blame guys a lot, perhaps men being forbidden from being around them in their developing years is a major contributor

  16. What is this referring to?

    Perhaps it’s different in Australia, but pre-primary and kindergarten are two different stages. I wasn’t even aware pre-primary existed in Europe.

    Pre-primary is the year prior to your first year in primary school. Kindergarten is one-to-two years _before_ that. Kindergarten is essentially very close to daycare, and not everyone even attends. Pre-primary is far more education-based and almost everyone attends (it might even be compulsory).

  17. No wonder the profession is so underpaid:) despite being impactful and valuable

  18. While I love working as design/multi-media teacher for emelentary school or high school age youth, I absolutely despise dealing with toddlers/young infants (among the reasons why I wont have any more kids of my own even tho I m having a blast sharing life with my daughter but never willing to return to sleepless nights, constant crying, big damage to social life & no way to effectively communicate with the little being again). While my gf worked in kindergarden for a couple of years while studying, those where among her very worst work exps ever and she is not even considering to return to teaching such young audineces under any circumstances. I salite to those brave souls doing that but that is not for everyone, regardless of their gender.

  19. There has been a massive push for women to get into STEM (traditionally male dominated) which has worked well in increasing the share in that sector, now it’s time for the equivalent to get men into HEAL (currently female dominated) to try and redress the balance a bit.

  20. Im a guy and I work in a kindergarten with kids aged 1 to 6. Prejudice is there with adults but the kids absolutely need “male energy” and I can quickly notice kids whose fathers are absent/not involved enough.

  21. My college sociology professor told us that when studying male kindergarden teachers, they would, when speaking with parents, always mention that they have a wife and kids in some way..

  22. As someone who works in UK schools their entire adult life:

    Yes.

    The ratio starts to slide towards male but only crosses over/approaches equality round about Year 6/7 and above, when teaching kids starts to “specialise” in individual subjects more.

    Same in state primary and independent primary (prep) – the ratio is far more female than male, but there’s a crossover that occurs in later years (Y7 onwards).

    I hate to come across as old-fashioned (it’s not me choosing who teaches and where! The teachers are!), but men generally don’t want to have to “babysit” and deal with babies and young children and their boo-boos. Women, generally, do and don’t want to have to deal with raucous teenagers.

    Though, obviously, there are always exceptions – in literally every school – that’s the way it pans out, statistically.

    I’ve spent nearly 30 years working in state, private, pre-primary, primary, secondary, further, etc. schools, including ones in special measures for behaviour with permanently-assigned police officers, and ones with 48 acres of attached land who still teach Latin.

    The balance is almost universally towards female teachers as the children get younger. And for several reasons – parents don’t feel as comfortable with a guy “managing” their young child, men don’t feel as comfortable being with children that young for the same reason, men don’t seem to really have that same caring/tolerance instinct for the young as women do, etc.

    Remember Friends? The episode with Noah Wyle playing the male nanny? There you go.

    And for some reason, despite all the child protection training, we still almost all cling to a concept that a young boy is “safe” with women, but either sex of a young age are in danger with a man. There’s a reason that, if I have to deal with a child, I try to make sure another adult is nearby, that I am visible and people are around to see, and it’s on CCTV or whatever – and that was my routine far before it became standard policy in many schools.

    When I was younger, I used to contract for many schools and there were many instances where I was the only male on site at all, except maybe a caretaker. I even got called on a couple of times when a kid was kicking off (throwing chairs, etc.) because the women – for some reason – automatically sought out a man to deal with them, or to just be present as a male in the room (e.g. if they had to change a young boy’s clothes because he’d wet himself). For reference, I’m NOT a teacher, and never have been (but I seriously considered it, and if I did teach, it would be older kids).

    And I can tell you that they often don’t realise that it’s an all-woman environment themselves. I’ve been sat in a staffroom and the women launch into a discussion about Fallopian tube infections and all kinds, in graphic detail, because they just forget that there’s one single, solitary man on staff.

  23. Many times men are called pedophiles just because they work in pre-primary childcare… no wonder the numbers are so low. Male childcare workers are just as important for children as female workers so governments should be working towards a more even distribution.

  24. Women on here: I can’t believe parents really think all male preschool teachers are pedos!

    Women at home with their partners: I’m not sending my fucking child, to a fucking preschool that hires fucking pedos Gerry!

    Gerry: They’re not all pedos.

    Women at home with partners: Your a fucking pedo as well. Where’s my child.

  25. A male relative of mine wanted to become a kindergarten teacher, but the school only took like 5 male students every year, and he narrowly couldn’t make it. Seems like an institutional problem.

  26. When I was studying to be a teacher, I was told mom’s were uncomfortable with men around their kidz. That’s one of the reason I’m now a software engineer, despite loving to teach to kindergarten or primarily school children so much. The hard truth is that many people reflect on you what they saw at the church.

  27. I didn’t have any male teachers at all in school (either in elementary or middle school).

  28. Didn’t they do a markting stunt to promote men in education?

  29. Very happy and proud to be sending my son to a daycare with a relatively gender balanced staff.

    On our tour of the building we could see the positive impact the male practitioners were having on the kids, particularly the boys who need that representation more than ever

  30. I’m a male early years teacher and it’s fantastic. The pay is rubbish and it’s hard work but fun every day and great exercise.

    Friends have taken the piss, generally people think it’s unusual but I love running around in organised chaos every day.

    Other men may not see it as a ‘manly’ job, but in my experience women find it very attractive. You wouldn’t believe the attention an average guy gets from all the single mums 😎

  31. Where are the calls from feminists to investigate the gender bias? It’s not because men don’t want to, but because mostly other women make pedo comments to men that do.

    I’ve been involved with young kids volunteering for years and I’ve had dozens of pedo comments. All by women. No problems with my actions, but the assumption that a man can only enjoy working with children if he’s a pedo.

  32. If someone is wondering, yes this definitely has a negative impact, especially on boys.

  33. Men have long since left the teaching profession in the primary school here in Norway. Poor pay, and an ever increasing lack of respect for the profession has seen to that.

    This is also reflected in the number of students that is seeking to qualify as a teacher. Unless the Norwegian government take steps to improve the conditions, this will just continue.

  34. I’d have no problem with this, if they ended the hard push for more women in STEM by force. But STEM are the highest paying jobs… so here we are. To be fair, most men would rather shoot themselves then be paid near minimum wage to be around 2-5 year olds all day. But as a kid I remember that later in primary and secondary school it sucked barely have any male teachers. Apart from one creepy exception, and one useless exception, they were always better than their female counterparts as far as I can remember.

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