Degendering nursing profession in India: A call for action utilising feminist pedagogy in nursing curriculum

Abstract

Globally, nursing is a highly female-dominated profession. Even though the number of men in nursing has increased in the past few decades, societal and organisational factors prevent the easy admittance and retention of men in the nursing profession. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the global nursing shortage and there is an urgent need to mitigate nursing staff shortages. One crucial strategy would be degendering the nursing profession, especially in the context of India, through diversifying recruitment strategies. This article discusses the historical background of how nursing became a gendered profession. While critically examining the ethical concerns about gendering practices in the nursing profession, this article argues for the need to break the gendered stereotypes in nursing. In addition, this article elicits an urgent call for action utilising feminist pedagogy in the nursing curriculum to transform nursing education.