Peter the Nurse and Teresa the Politician: Exploring Gender Norms and Discrimination in the Workplace

Due to gender socialization, people of today’s society expect males and females to be intrinsically different. Thus, many careers are dominated by a single gender. In my thesis I explore the consequences that those who are employed in professions that defy gender expectations, i.e. a male nurse and a female politician, deal with. It is common for a man in a female dominated profession to face discrimination. The converse is also true. However, the discrimination each person suffers differs according to his or her gender. The negative discrimination that for instance, a male secretary experiences is most strongly generated by society in general, that is mass media, family, peers, and any institution outside of his profession. On the other hand, the negative discrimination, that for instance a female politician experiences, is most strongly generated by her coworkers and those inside her field