BY FRANCES WEISS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

As traditional jobs for men in fields like construction and manufacturing dry up, more men are entering “pink collar” fields dominated by women.

According to The New York Times, jobs in health, like nursing and dental hygiene, are now attracting men who would not have thought of them previously. Although about 90 percent of dental hygienists are women, Miguel Alquicira, who graduated from high school in a tough job market, had no hesitation about entering the field when career counselors told him of the opportunities in health-related careers, reports The New York Times. Jobs in health and education are more stable and harder to outsource than those more traditionally held by men. More men are also becoming teachers.

“The way I look at it, is that anything, basically, that a woman can do, a guy can do,” Alquicira said.

Andrew Smiler, Ph.D. notes in Role/Reboot that gender-related changes in the job market have occurred before, notably during World War II, when many women entered jobs usually held by men. 

Men who enter female-dominated fields are likely to do better than women, getting higher pay and quicker promotions as they climb the Glass Escalator, observes Forbes. This effect only applies to white men supervised by women or minority men, according to a study by sociologist Ryan Smith at Baruch College cited by Forbes.

Women continue to earn less than men even in fields where they are the majority, reports U.S. News & World Reports, citing a recent study by the Women’s Institute for Policy Research.