In my workplace there is close to a 50-50 male female ratio. The previous manager who was responsible for recruiting our work group was quite open about her preference to maintain the "balance" as it reflects the population demographics of our clients; and also, in her stated opinion, tends to limit some of the difficulties that may arise with teams consisting of primarily one gender.
Though, really I think a lot of the question of whether this "works" at a practical level (or not) comes down to the power structures in place and how they manifest in the working lives of the employee. The organisation within which I work has a higher than average percentage of excellent managers (most of whom happen to be women) and as it operates within the community not for profit sector, is inherently less bound by the patriarchal medical/military ways (dare I say masculine ?) of doing things. Ultimately, I think any organization that purports to be about servicing the needs of clients in an excellent way, needs to first foster a workplace culture of empowering and supporting it's staff. Teams work well only if they are encouraged to be creative, reflective, and self sustaining - and those kinds of qualities aren't gender specific. David Harraway (OT) Mary Giarratano wrote: > I work in an SNF and it's always nice to have a male presence in the gym. The > male patients like having another guy around and they are more comfortable > doing > ADLs with a man often times. > > My department is all women (OT & PT) at the moment and we miss having a guy > around to help with the heavy max A transfers! > > Mary > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Sue > Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 10:51 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [OTlist] Conflicted > > Ron, > > I'm curious....could you expound on your remark: "most employers realize > the > importance of having a male presence in the work environment." > > Thanks, > > Susan > > Roxanne Nelson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Dear John, > Figure out how you can best contribute to humanity and get on with it. Being a > caregiver has many rewards and many opportunities regardless of how you are > plumbed below the belt. If you want to work full time then you will work full > time. If you want to work outside of the house part time and inside the house > part time then you will do so. > Good luck, > Roxanne > > Ron Carson wrote: > Hello John: > > I think what you say is true. But more importantly, I think being a male > OT just bring a certain "maleness" to a female dominated profession. I > think most employers realize the importance of having a male presence in > the work environment. > > Ron > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: John Campbell > Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 > To: [email protected] > Subj: [OTlist] Conflicted > > >> Ron, I've heard it's advantageous to be a male OT out of school from a >> couple of people. A female OT I spoke with mentioned that women often >> do it on a part time basis (juggling family and other >> responsibilities) while men tend to commit more to it full time, so >> employers tend to snap up men when they surface. Not sure how true >> that is, but you'd probably have some idea. >> > > >> Thanks folks! >> John >> > > > -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
