Women Working in Mans World: Mortuary/ Funeral Industry



Abstract

The funeral industry which is once considered as a male dominated industry is going through a major change. Women are actively becoming a part of this industry. This trend is growing as more females are getting enrolled in mortuary schools. This paper aims to provide an outlook of growing female presence in this man's dominated service. It has discussed the gender discrimination facing women in the industry. The case study of American Funeral industry is also elaborated.

Abstracti

Introduction2

Discrimination against Women in the Funeral Industry2

Case Study3

Women in American funeral industry4

Conclusion5

Women Working in Mans World: Mortuary/ Funeral Industry

Introduction

The funeral Industry considers being a male dominated industry. Few decades back, there were mostly males who served as funeral directors. The women were perceived to be as weak and delicate that they cannot handle the dead bodies. Secondly they were thought to be too emotional to see such things, which a funeral director may have to witness. Male funeral directors argued that this job is not meant for women. This perception about the women kept them away from the jobs of funeral services(Harrington et.al, 2010).

Despite of the fact that women are believed to be more sensitive and emotional than men, different researches suggest that emotional behavior and sensitivity do not only belongs to the women(Pruitt, 2010). In recent years, women's enrollment in mortuary schools has increased dramatically. It has increase to 60% in 2008 as compared to 35% in 1995. According to the president of a mortuary college, women are entering in the fields that were previously male dominated. Women are perfectly fit for the funeral jobs because of their caring nature(Harrington et.al, 2010).

Discrimination against Women in the Funeral Industry

The cause of discrimination against women in the funeral industry is due to the individual perceptions and beliefs about the capabilities of women. There are also some legal requirements for funeral directors in certain states, such as the funeral directors must be licensed embalmers. These legal requirements act as a barrier for women, to enter in the funeral services. Despite of the fact that number of females as funeral directors are growing the profession is still largely male dominated. Females in the profession have reported that they changed their behavior because they felt some kind of gender discrimination. They have to remain very careful and not to make any mistake due to any fear otherwise their mistake will be attributed to the gender difference(Pruitt, 2010).

In addition to the discrimination women feels from male co-workers and other management staff in the funeral industry, some women also feel that customers also get a surprise when dealing with women for funeral services(Pruitt, 2010).

Most male funeral directors use demarcationary strategies to place women in clerical positions of the funeral firms. Women also feel dissatisfaction from the level of appreciation they received from the funeral directors despite their level of work stress(Watson, 2005).

There are three main organizational factors that contribute towards the gender discrimination in the ...