Men in early years and childcare

It is a fact that men are desperately underrepresented in the early years and childcare sector, with less than 2% of the workforce being male.

In West Sussex we want to change this number, because we recognise the benefits men bring to the sector. These benefits include:

• having men in the setting provides children with a more accurate reflection of the gender mix in the environment where they live and grow
• children need to know that men and women are equally capable of and responsible for caring for and educating them
• a diverse, mixed-gender early years workforce addresses gender inequality and stereotypes at the earliest stage in a child’s life which benefits not just the children but our future society
• male early years and childcare practitioners, just like their female colleagues, build and model emotionally supportive and safe relationships
• fathers may feel more comfortable in our early years and childcare settings if they see more men in these spaces
• we think that early years education and childcare should benefit from the talents of all, so actively seek to create a workforce that includes men, women and people with other gendered or non-gendered identities