Nurses Care, Doctors Cure: the Racial Construction of Work for Black Men in Gendered Occupations

Abstract

The research on gender and work documents that occupations are defined as more gender-appropriate for men or for women. Nursing is seen as a “woman’s job” while being a doctor yields higher economic rewards and status. Most of the research in this area, however, fails to consider how racial minority status affects the performance of duties associated with gendered occupations. I examine how gender and race shape the ways that caring and curing are done in gendered occupations of nursing and medicine. How do black male nurses and doctors construct ideas about caring and curing in their respective professions? These findings can help us understand additional factors that shape the ways medicine and nursing are practiced by minority groups who may experience their professional work differently from those in the majority.