More Male Nurses, But Wage Disparity Persists

Men represent less than 10% of the nurse workforce in the United States, a U.S. Census Bureau report shows. Their numbers are steadily increasing and they now make significantly more money on average than their female colleagues.

The report, Men in Nursing Occupations, uses data gleaned in the 2011 American Community Survey which found that 9.6% of the nation's registered nurses were men, up from 2.7% in 1970. Men also comprised 8.1% of the licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, up from 3.9% in 1970.

In 2011, there were 3.5 million employed nurses in the U. S. and 78 percent were registered nurses.

Full-time female nurses earned 91 cents for every one dollar earned by their full-time male colleagues. For both full-time and part-time nurses, the survey found that men earned an average of $60,700 per year and women earned $51,100.

While men typically out-earn women, the gap is much smaller in nursing than it is across all occupations in the national workforce, where women earned on average 77 cents for every one dollar earned by men.

The study's author, Liana Christin Landivar, a sociologist with the Census Bureau's Industry and Occupation Statistics Branch, says there are "a variety of factors" explaining why male nurses make more than female nurses.

"I wouldn't pin it on one thing," Landivar says. "You can look at education. You can look at work hours. You can look at industry. Women are more likely to be in elementary and secondary schools and less likely to be in hospitals," which tend to pay more.

Landivar says men are more likely to acquire professional or doctorate degrees and to gravitate towards higher-paying specialties. For example, only 1% of employed nurses in the United States are nurse anesthetists, yet 41% of them are men. The specialty pays, on average, $162,900.

While the census study does not look specifically at family demands as a factor in the pay disparities, Landivar says there are numerous studies that suggest that women with children are more likely to work fewer hours and don't have the schedule flexibility of their male colleagues.

The study also found that:

• There were 3.5 million employed nurses in 2011, about 3.2 million of whom were female and 330,000 male.
• Unemployment was lowest among nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists—about 0.8% for both. For registered nurses and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses unemployment was 1.8% and 4.3%, respectively.
• Of the employed nurses (both sexes), 78% were registered nurses, 19% were licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, 3% were nurse practitioners, and 1% were nurse anesthetists.
• While 72% of registered nurses (both sexes) left home for work between 5 a.m. and noon, 19% worked the evening or night shifts.
• 64% of registered nurses (both sexes) worked in hospitals, and 30% of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses worked in nursing care facilities or hospitals.

Edward Briggs, ARNP/DNP, president elect of the Florida Nurses Association, says he expects men will continue to join the nursing ranks.

"The economy is part of it. Nursing is known to be a profession where there is always a job opening and usually it's a well-paying job and it's well respected," Briggs says.

"Men are now seeing nursing as being a viable option as a career whereas before it was seen as a woman's job. Now in the media people are seeing men as nurses and it's become more acceptable. I speak a lot at colleges and I am seeing more and more male faces out in the audience. We are going to see a progressive increase in the numbers of men going into nursing."

As for the pay discrepancy between male and female nurses, Briggs agrees with Landiver's assessment that many factors are at play.

"Women have [many] more demands in the way of family and children. Men do a lot more overtime. They're willing to take those extra hours and earn time-and-a-half," he says. "And another factor is many men are quickly pushed into management positions. There is still that stereotype of seeing men as better managers and leaders, and one of the demands of management is you have to be flexible with your hours and time. So men are able to do those variable hours as opposed to women who have more demands with family."