By Mia Chapman
Before
I begin, I would like to explain why this post may not come across as
particularly feminist. Until recently, I would not have used this word to
describe myself because for me, like many others, this label came with negative
connotations of the extreme. I have now come to realise that I do, in fact,
agree with the cause: equal opportunities and free choice. I am in no way a man
hater, which is what I once believed you had to be, and that is why I am
writing this post; because I believe in equal opportunities and freedom for men
as well as women.
Think
back to your primary school days and try to remember how many of your teachers
were male and how many female, particularly in the early years. I believe I had
two throughout my entire seven years, and these were in years five and six. I
am about to go to study to become a primary school teacher at University, which
is a particularly female dominated profession; further indication that there is
still a huge amount of gender division within the workplace. I have not yet started my degree and do not
know exactly how many men are on the course but, from my experiences at
interviews and talking to future coursemates via Facebook, it is clear that the
men will be significantly outnumbered. The numbers of male primary school
teachers are increasing, albeit incredibly slowly, and, from the most recent
2011 -2012 statistics, a mere 19% of trainee registrations were in fact male
[Source: The Department for Education, 2012].
