Slate reports on the growing number of women entering the death care industry. Before the Civil War, caring for the dead was seen as “women’s work.” With the advent of modern mortuary techniques, men came to dominate the industry. That is slowly changing.
Slate.com reports:
In the funeral industry, traditional as it was (and is), it was particularly difficult for women to erode workplace barriers. It wasn’t until 2000 that the number of women equaled the number of men graduating from U.S. mortuary schools.
Interviews with women funeral workers today yielded two main reasons for their wanting to move into the business: First, it’s a stable, well-paying job. The mean annual wage of a funeral director is just over $60,000, and there will never be a shortage of deaths.
The second reason hearkens back—somewhat ironically—to the archetype of the nurturing woman from the pre-Civil War days: Women funeral workers believe they outperform men when it comes to comforting and listening to surviving family members, and at using their feminine touch to create memorable, meaningful funeral services. Where men coldly push paper across tabletops, they say, women give hugs.
“Women are more patient and more willing to explain things,” said Kim Stacey, founder of the Association of Women Funeral Professionals. Additionally, she said, “Women are more able to break down physical boundaries. People will accept a hug from a woman far more willingly than they will from a man.” In an industry in which a myriad of consumer protection laws often bewilder surviving family members who are in the process of purchasing funeral services, a woman’s supposed superiority in the empathy department can help seal deals. Some funeral homes only allow women to field calls from prospective clients for just this reason.
However, death care isn’t a woman’s field just yet. Most estimates put the number of women working in the funeral industry well below that of men, despite women’s high mortuary school graduation rates. The fact remains that many funeral homes remain small, family-run businesses in which fathers have passed down ownership to sons over generations. And some prejudice still exists. Many women looking to move into the funeral industry say that male owners overlook them. Employers won’t harbor doubts about a man’s ability to pick up a 300-pound body, but they will with a woman. Those already working in the industry say they feel as though they constantly have to prove themselves.