Boys' Day: New Horizons for Young Men in Germany

Yesterday was not only Girl's Day, but also Bay's Day. First introduced in 2011 in follows the thought of gender Equality and acknowledges that there are also vocational fields dominated by female workers and seldom seen as career options for male jobseekers.

It’s a well-known fact that women are underrepresented in many STEM professions, but it turns out that societal expectations can go both ways: while a girl may shy away from a technical career because it is not perceived as “feminine” enough, boys may avoid many jobs traditionally held by women for fear of not seeming “manly”. Enter Boys’ Day, a German initiative that aims to introduce boys from grade 5 to 10 to skilled professions less commonly practiced by men.

Image source: gfairchild via flickr

One Small Step for Boy-kind…
Did you know that more than half of all male teenagers choose to pursue less than 20 careers [1]? Interestingly, these careers skew heavily toward technical work, such as being a car mechanic, and almost none have a social, caring-oriented focus. In a country with an aging population such as Germany, this is a serious problem. When entering the Boys' Day program, boys can choose from a list of 30 different professions to try out. Some of these “rare” professions for young men are also linked to (neuro)science. For example, boys can try out being a biologist, psychologist, nurse, or health researcher.

Future Payoff?
Since the program started in 2011, more than 194,000 boys have taken part in the program in Germany [1]. As the program is younger than Girls’ Day, it’s still hard to tell whether the impact will be as great. However, judging by success stories on the website [1], many young men have found their way into non-traditional careers that they turn out to love.
Working in life sciences means a challenging, but ultimately rewarding life. No-one should have to miss out on the opportunity to do science because of tradition or societal expectations! Boys’ Day serves as an important reminder that building a diverse scientific community means confronting our expectations about both men and women.

Many important jobs are not seen as "manly"
Boys’ Day takes place this year at the same time as Girls’ Day, on April 27^th.
For more information, please visit https://www.boys-day.de/

by Constance Holman, PhD Student AG Schmitz

[1] http://bit.ly/2kDGVUn