Teaching becoming increasingly female occupation

The number of men teaching K-12 in Pennsylvania public schools is on the decline. According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and accumulated by the NEA between 1970 through 2006, 61.0% of Pennsylvania’s elementary and secondary teachers in 1970 were women. Thirty-six years later, the percent of women teachers in Pennsylvania has increased to 71%. 

In Pennsylvania, two of every seven teachers are men. After decades of struggle to encourage more men to enter the teaching profession, and to create gender equality in the workplace, these statistics suggest that we still have work to do.

The percent of male teachers climbed slightly every year from 1972 to 1979. The percentage of male teachers continued to increase from 1980 to 1984, but has decreased every year since then.

The percent of women teachers in Pennsylvania dropped slightly every year from 1972 to 1979, falling to a low of 58.58% in 1979. After an increase in the percentage of women teachers in 1980, the percentage fell again every year until 1984, to 58.7%. The percentage of women teachers has increased every year since then.

Numbers of women teachers in secondary schools has increased steadily over the past 36 years. In 1970, women teachers made up 41.5% of the secondary teaching force. This number has risen to 59.6%.

Currently, men make up only 28.8% of the K-12 public school teaching population, marking a historical low. Unless something happens to change these trends, men will continue to disappear from public K-12 schools.

Source:  NEA Rankings & Estimates database for 1970 through 2006. The NEA Rankings & Estimates are online at www.nea.org/research/index.html