26-03-2025
Man working in female-dominated industry exposes sad reality of $70,000 job: 'Weirdos'
A man working as an early childcare teacher has highlighted the sad and awkward reality of working in the crucial sector. These workers are responsible for educating children as they start the navigate the world on their own.
It's an important pillar of the community, and the Brisbane-based teacher said it's incredibly "rewarding". But he admitted that it isn't without its challenges.
"As you would see in the news... like weirdos doing weird things to kids, and it's not nice, and it's a bit hard for me, as a male staff member in that industry," he told jobs app GetAhead.
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"I try my best to do the most for the kids, and it's hard because it's a stereotype thing.
"I guess it's that males can't look after children... like it's a motherly figure thing to look after kids. So, that's probably my biggest challenge."
He is one of a tiny fraction of men in the early childcare education sector.
According to figures released last year, only 3 per cent of teachers in the industry are male.
The University of South Australia (UniSA) revealed that over the past 30 years, childcare workers and primary school teachers have become even more female-dominated and are now in the top five most gender-segregated careers.
There have been calls to address this imbalance, however, fixing this issue is easier said than done.
Jay Weatherill, director of early learning organisation Thrive by Five, said getting more men into the sector is crucial for everyone.
'Involving men in early childhood education settings is very important for both young boys and young girls to see that a nurturing role can be undertaken by a male," he said.
'That's going to be important not only for their experiences and relationships that they form in life, but also a more inclusive society.'
This was echoed by UniSA education expert Dr Martyn Mills-Bayne.
'When young boys don't see men in early education or carer roles, that is until upper primary or even high school, they inherently learn that men do not belong in such roles, which only adds to a cycle of gender segregation," he said.
The Brisbane-based early childhood teacher said he secured his $70,000 per year job after completing his diploma in 2024.
Under this pathway, you can get paid to work in the sector as an apprentice.
However, to become fully qualified, you'll need to complete a Bachelor's degree in early childhood teaching, which takes three to four years to complete.
"You need to love childcare," he said.
"That's what I say to people. We have young trainees come in and they hate it within the first couple of months because it's a lot of got to be able to just push through."
He decided to pursue the job because his mum was in early childhood education and has loved the idea of the role all his life.
"It's just rewarding, like it's the zero to five, which is the most crucial part of a child's life," he in to access your portfolio
