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Man hittar sin nisch. Om män i socionomyrket - karriär, minoritet och maskulinitet

Kullberg, Karin LU (2006) In Rapportserie i socialt arbete
Abstract
This dissertation is about men as a minority in a female profession, that of university-

trained social worker. The aim is to illuminate the relationship between

work and gender on the basis of career, minority, and masculinity in the profession

of social work. By means of questionnaires sent to all the men who trained

as social workers in Lund 1980–1985 (the 1980s generation) and 1993–2003 (the

1990s generation) I have charted their careers. Eighteen of the 1990s generation

who completed the questionnaire were interviewed to eliciting their own point of

view. The results of the questionnaire study show that the men who took degrees

in social work in both the... (More)
This dissertation is about men as a minority in a female profession, that of university-

trained social worker. The aim is to illuminate the relationship between

work and gender on the basis of career, minority, and masculinity in the profession

of social work. By means of questionnaires sent to all the men who trained

as social workers in Lund 1980–1985 (the 1980s generation) and 1993–2003 (the

1990s generation) I have charted their careers. Eighteen of the 1990s generation

who completed the questionnaire were interviewed to eliciting their own point of

view. The results of the questionnaire study show that the men who took degrees

in social work in both the educational generations to a large extent started their

career in the social services but did not often continue their career there or entered

this field after the first few years of their career. From the interviews it was

found that the parts of the social services to which the men are most negative are

those which involve the exercise of authority and the control of people. Those

who qualified in the 1980s pursued a career which largely corresponds to the prevailing

image of the male social worker’s career - many of these men had embarked

on a vertical management career or had left the profession. The 1990s

generation displayed a different career development. Whereas the traditional male

social worker career goes in a vertical direction and is a matter of formal power

and superiority, the modern career goes in a horizontal direction and is a matter

of creating an autonomous niche. The niche is not just an expression of a new career

pattern; through the niche it is also possible to preserve a traditional masculinity.

At the same time, the interviewed men present an alternative masculinity

through their choice of profession and their way of reasoning about it. The male

social workers can thereby be seen as representatives of a masculinity in a time of

change. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Book/Report
publication status
published
subject
in
Rapportserie i socialt arbete
publisher
Växjö universitet
report number
6
ISSN
1652-8573
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
561ca670-41e8-46c9-ae18-737650d0f8cd (old id 564284)
alternative location
http://www.diva-portal.org/diva/getDocument?urn_nbn_se_vxu_diva-1124-2__fulltext.pdf
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:28:42
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:41:43
@techreport{561ca670-41e8-46c9-ae18-737650d0f8cd,
  abstract     = {{This dissertation is about men as a minority in a female profession, that of university-<br/><br>
trained social worker. The aim is to illuminate the relationship between<br/><br>
work and gender on the basis of career, minority, and masculinity in the profession<br/><br>
of social work. By means of questionnaires sent to all the men who trained<br/><br>
as social workers in Lund 1980–1985 (the 1980s generation) and 1993–2003 (the<br/><br>
1990s generation) I have charted their careers. Eighteen of the 1990s generation<br/><br>
who completed the questionnaire were interviewed to eliciting their own point of<br/><br>
view. The results of the questionnaire study show that the men who took degrees<br/><br>
in social work in both the educational generations to a large extent started their<br/><br>
career in the social services but did not often continue their career there or entered<br/><br>
this field after the first few years of their career. From the interviews it was<br/><br>
found that the parts of the social services to which the men are most negative are<br/><br>
those which involve the exercise of authority and the control of people. Those<br/><br>
who qualified in the 1980s pursued a career which largely corresponds to the prevailing<br/><br>
image of the male social worker’s career - many of these men had embarked<br/><br>
on a vertical management career or had left the profession. The 1990s<br/><br>
generation displayed a different career development. Whereas the traditional male<br/><br>
social worker career goes in a vertical direction and is a matter of formal power<br/><br>
and superiority, the modern career goes in a horizontal direction and is a matter<br/><br>
of creating an autonomous niche. The niche is not just an expression of a new career<br/><br>
pattern; through the niche it is also possible to preserve a traditional masculinity.<br/><br>
At the same time, the interviewed men present an alternative masculinity<br/><br>
through their choice of profession and their way of reasoning about it. The male<br/><br>
social workers can thereby be seen as representatives of a masculinity in a time of<br/><br>
change.}},
  author       = {{Kullberg, Karin}},
  institution  = {{Växjö universitet}},
  issn         = {{1652-8573}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  number       = {{6}},
  series       = {{Rapportserie i socialt arbete}},
  title        = {{Man hittar sin nisch. Om män i socionomyrket - karriär, minoritet och maskulinitet}},
  url          = {{http://www.diva-portal.org/diva/getDocument?urn_nbn_se_vxu_diva-1124-2__fulltext.pdf}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}