The professions of nursing and education have always been considered a female dominant field. This has not changed over the years. Colleges all across the nation are still educating more females in these fields than they are males. This is seen on Auburn University’s campus too.
Currently, Auburn’s school of nursing has 935 students in the undergraduate program. Out of the 935 students, only 87 students are male. For Auburn’s college of education, there are 1,792 students enrolled into the program and only 447 of those students are male.
However, within these programs, the male-to-female ratio vary according to the specific majors. The elementary education program is heavily female dominant, whereas music education is about even on female and male students.
The education level also has variation in the ratio between female and male students. The higher the education level, the more female dominant the program. This is because as students’ progress in the education, the more likely they are to change their major.
Auburn University does not hinder the decision-making process of students, but rather they encourage everyone to pursue any field they would like regardless of their gender.
These female dominant fields are a problem faced all across the nation. In fact, the national statistic for male registered nurses are about 9%. Many people associate these careers for women, and few challenge that stereotype.
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