Who Cares? Stereotypes of and Support for Men Working in Childcare

Abstract

Men are vastly underrepresented in early childhood education and care, particularly in childcare work. To uncover stereotypes that motivate or hinder support for men in childcare in society, we employed a representative sample (N = 280) from Czechia, which has one of the lowest percentages of men working in childcare in the EU. We identified and contrasted descriptive, prescriptive, and proscriptive stereotypes about men, women, or childcare workers without a specified gender. Next, we examined the link between convergence of descriptive and prescriptive stereotypes about men in childcare and support for men working in childcare. In both open responses and trait ratings, men working in childcare were less often perceived or expected to be warm than women working in childcare. In the trait ratings, men working in childcare were less often expected to be moral and competent than women working in childcare. Yet, the overall stereotypical profiles of men converged with childcare workers with no gender information. Greater convergence between descriptive and prescriptive stereotypes about men working in childcare was associated with higher support for them. These findings highlight the specific role that normative beliefs play in support for men in childcare in the larger social environment.