HOW WE ADVOCATED FOR GENDER DIVERSITY IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD WORKFORCE

• Published in: YC young children Vol. 65; no. 3; pp. 30 - 34
• Main Authors: Janairo, Rolland R., Holm, Just, Jordan, Theresa, Wright, Nida S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) 01.05.2010; National Association for the Education of Young Children
• Subjects: Child Care; Child Caregivers; Childhood; Children & youth; Community; Disadvantaged; Disproportionate Representation; Early Childhood Education; Early Childhood Teachers; Ethnic Groups; Fellowships; Gender; Gender Issues; Kindergarten; Laws; Leadership; Learning; Males; Massachusetts; Men; MEN IN THE LIVES OF YOUNG CHILDREN: Current Perspectives; Minority Groups; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Politics of Education; Preschool Education; Preschool Teachers; Public policy; Recommendations; Social Bias; Stereotypes; Teacher Recruitment; Teachers; Workforce; Workplace diversity; Young Children; Massachusetts
• ISSN: 1538-6619; 2770-856X; 1941-2002

Men matter to young children. Furthermore, people can see that men care about children. Men are, in fact, rare in early education and care settings. Nationally, men comprise 5 percent of the child care workforce and 2.2 percent of preschool and kindergarten teachers. A representative, diverse workforce that promotes professional opportunities regardless of gender can help children develop "an expectation that both women and men are expected to fulfill a full range of adult roles and responsibilities." Recruiting more male teachers into the early childhood workforce provides children with adults of both genders to whom they can relate and respond. The authors of this article are 2008 CAYL Schott fellows. The CAYL (Community Advocates for Young Learners) Institute equips leaders in early education to be architects of change for all children. The Schott Fellowship supports mid-career early childhood leaders in Massachusetts who are experienced in and committed to working in communities of color and economically underserved communities. During the yearlong fellowship, the authors worked together on questions addressing the lack of gender diversity in the Massachusetts early childhood workforce. They needed to identify policy gaps, such as why state laws about a diverse early childhood workforce did not include gender. They wanted to collect data to see how many male early education teachers were working in the state and where they were teaching. By coupling analysis of the data with the identified policy gaps and seeking input from early childhood leaders and community stakeholders in Massachusetts, they could make recommendations to the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), an agency of the Massachusetts Department of Education. In this article, the authors describe their advocacy process and present their policy recommendations.