Men in a female-majority profession: perspectives of male trainees in clinical psychology

Concern has been expressed by clinical psychologists about the gender imbalance within the profession. The principle of a representative workforce for the population served, requires action to redress the imbalance. However, it is argued that a prerequisite to appropriate recruitment strategy is the understanding of how men and women choose psychology as a career. As part of this aim, the present study investigated the attraction of professional clinical psychology to male UK trainees. Eighty-eight completed sets of Q-sort ratings were analysed to identify patterns of incentives and disincentives within a series of statements about the profession. Narrative descriptions of the four factors derived from analysis of the data are given, and we suggest their arrangement into two contrasting pairs. Q-sort data are by design defined by positive and negative aspects, and our interpretations indicate a mixture of attraction within and between the factors. No simple conclusions were drawn from, or recommendations for recruitment implied by, the analysis, though direction for further research was forthcoming. Within the constraints of its limitations, we view the study as a small contribution towards an empirically-based understanding of factors influential in the recruitment of a more balanced gender ratio within the profession.