Can you/should you get hired in HR as a man? Is HR for females only?
As a recent graduate I've been looking through the job offers and it seems that there is a lot of jobs available at trainee and experienced level in the HR in various organisations, and in fact in many countries all over the world: UK, USA, Canada, Germany, UAE, Singapore, France etc.
I was never really familiar with what the HR does so I've started my research on this and I've found that 75% of HR in OECD countries is dominated by females, and that is decreasing which means that HR used to have even more of a gender imbalance.
So why do you think this is? I cannot think of anything particularly feminine which the HR would do - even if we were reside to stereotyping gender roles. So, why is it that it's so female dominated? Also, many of the HRM courses have the gender imbalance of 1:10 male to female ratio.
Why would you not enter the HR profession as a male? It pays really well and it doesn't seem to be too demanding, or is there something crucial I do not know?
I was never really familiar with what the HR does so I've started my research on this and I've found that 75% of HR in OECD countries is dominated by females, and that is decreasing which means that HR used to have even more of a gender imbalance.
So why do you think this is? I cannot think of anything particularly feminine which the HR would do - even if we were reside to stereotyping gender roles. So, why is it that it's so female dominated? Also, many of the HRM courses have the gender imbalance of 1:10 male to female ratio.
Why would you not enter the HR profession as a male? It pays really well and it doesn't seem to be too demanding, or is there something crucial I do not know?
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I did a HRM module in my final year (International HRM to be precise), and it was probably 50:50 guys and girls, with a male lecturer. Although I don't know why the profession is dominated by women.
I personally wouldn't go into the HR profession, mainly because it's not the career I want (also I didn't do that great in the module either
)
I personally wouldn't go into the HR profession, mainly because it's not the career I want (also I didn't do that great in the module either
)Original post by J-SP
HR is highly female at all levels. The irony is that men tend to be over represented at more senior levels than they are at junior levels though.
Why is it? Well it's probably the same reasons as teaching and nursing - it just appeals to women more.
HR is a pretty broad church within itself - there's lots of specialisms within it. But generally most HR people need to be pretty good at emphasising with others without being walked all over. They often have to be pretty patient too. Although a lot of people won't necessarily see it there is this "caring" side to HR that you have to switch on a lot but at the same time you have to be absolutely ruthless on the other. In generalist HR, which is usually when you are the go to person for employees, you just have to deal with everyone's s**t, or at least have to listen to at a lot of it if you don't even have to deal with it. And they often have to be the messenger that everyone wants to shoot, when they should be really wanting to shoot the senior management.
So HR becomes a mixture of being a counsellor, negotiator, parent, confidant, teacher, middle man, messenger, note taker, friend, foe, and advisor. I think these responsibilities generally appeal to women much more than men.
HR has a weird dynamic and it's one I never really liked nor had much time for. It also the reason why HR gets a reputation for being quite cliquey/b****y (nice one minute, coming down hard the next).
But there are aspects/specialisms within HR that are really not like this at all. I was lucky to find mine early on in my career and avoided generalist HR thankfully.
It's also not very well paid compared to other professions. You can earn decent money from it (I did anyway) but when compared to what the equivalent manager levels earn in IT/Accounts and some other business service functions, HR tends to pay significantly less. Women are less motivated by money than men, and so again it will probably attract more women to the profession.
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Why is it? Well it's probably the same reasons as teaching and nursing - it just appeals to women more.
HR is a pretty broad church within itself - there's lots of specialisms within it. But generally most HR people need to be pretty good at emphasising with others without being walked all over. They often have to be pretty patient too. Although a lot of people won't necessarily see it there is this "caring" side to HR that you have to switch on a lot but at the same time you have to be absolutely ruthless on the other. In generalist HR, which is usually when you are the go to person for employees, you just have to deal with everyone's s**t, or at least have to listen to at a lot of it if you don't even have to deal with it. And they often have to be the messenger that everyone wants to shoot, when they should be really wanting to shoot the senior management.
So HR becomes a mixture of being a counsellor, negotiator, parent, confidant, teacher, middle man, messenger, note taker, friend, foe, and advisor. I think these responsibilities generally appeal to women much more than men.
HR has a weird dynamic and it's one I never really liked nor had much time for. It also the reason why HR gets a reputation for being quite cliquey/b****y (nice one minute, coming down hard the next).
But there are aspects/specialisms within HR that are really not like this at all. I was lucky to find mine early on in my career and avoided generalist HR thankfully.
It's also not very well paid compared to other professions. You can earn decent money from it (I did anyway) but when compared to what the equivalent manager levels earn in IT/Accounts and some other business service functions, HR tends to pay significantly less. Women are less motivated by money than men, and so again it will probably attract more women to the profession.
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Thank you for this reply.
How 'feminine' would you say an average HR is in comparison to an average nursing, teaching or caring job? In grade teaching, my experience has been that the split is even 50:50 between the genders, but in care and nursing jobs indeed it has been over 90% women. What do you say about the fact that 70-75% of HR are women?
As someone who has worked in HR, how were you treated as a male, by a) other - presumably female - HR managers, and b) other departments. Were you suffering from a form of 'masculinity crisis', or do you know someone who has? Why did you leave the HR job?
About pay - is it really less paid though? I mean, many of the HR jobs [including recruitment - but should you count recruitment and recruitment consultancy or HR consultancy as HR as well?] that require 2-3 years of experience and/or CIPD accreditation seem to pay as much as 50k. I would think that if one decides to do HR, it is precisely for that reason, namely that the pay is high. I suppose I was wrong about this? But doesn't HR pay more than, for example, marketing in an organisation?
Original post by Lord Samosa
I personally wouldn't go into the HR profession, because it's not the career I want
I personally wouldn't go into the HR profession, because it's not the career I want
Could you please elaborate on why you definitely would not want a career in HR? What is your desirable career path
Put simply I imagine it is because it is a job role that requires large amounts of empathy. Women on average are more empathetic than men and so it appeals to them and they're better at it. This is then compensating for when we reach the higher levels of such careers because of the lack of drive to pursue high careers in women relative to men.
I'm sure if you're good at it then you'll do fine regardless of your sex
I'm sure if you're good at it then you'll do fine regardless of your sex
Original post by TorpidPhil
Put simply I imagine it is because it is a job role that requires large amounts of empathy. Women on average are more empathetic than men and so it appeals to them and they're better at it. This is then compensating for when we reach the higher levels of such careers because of the lack of drive to pursue high careers in women relative to men.
I'm sure if you're good at it then you'll do fine regardless of your sex
I'm sure if you're good at it then you'll do fine regardless of your sex
Do you really think so, would you pursue a career in HR? How is it regarded among men in other departments within a given organisation, and by society in general? (compared with, for example, marketing or consulting)
Original post by William Pitt
Do you really think so, would you pursue a career in HR? How is it regarded among men in other departments within a given organisation, and by society in general? (compared with, for example, marketing or consulting)
My opinions here are not very strong as I haven't done the statistical analysis. I haven't checked the extent to which males dominate in HR jobs at the high end and compared it to other jobs to see if there was a disparity. But what I said seems to make sense according to the theory.
HR would definitely interest me, although personally I want to go into police work. I hope you can see the resemblance in the careers. Perhaps eventually I will work for the HR team for the police, lol.
Original post by moonkatt
Op, it sounds like you're more bothered about what people would think about you rather than the role itself. If it's something you want to do, do it, **** what other people think of you, it's your career in the end.
Yes this is indeed true. I am not going to try and pretend this is not the case. I am genuinely bothered about how others perceive me. I am worried that in the long term I will indeed suffer from a masculinity crisis, so I prefer to discuss it now. Would you do HR, why and why not?
Original post by TorpidPhil
My opinions here are not very strong as I haven't done the statistical analysis. I haven't checked the extent to which males dominate in HR jobs at the high end and compared it to other jobs to see if there was a disparity. But what I said seems to make sense according to the theory.
HR would definitely interest me, although personally I want to go into police work. I hope you can see the resemblance in the careers. Perhaps eventually I will work for the HR team for the police, lol.
HR would definitely interest me, although personally I want to go into police work. I hope you can see the resemblance in the careers. Perhaps eventually I will work for the HR team for the police, lol.
Original post by J-SP
I should point out I am female. I still work in HR, I am just self employed. I've had male managers and male staff reporting into me though, and I don't think any of them have a masculinity crisis, just like women in male dominated industries don't struggle with their gender.
I can't compare it to teaching or nursing have never done those careers. I've tried to show why I think women are attracted to HR more than men, I am not really sure what you want me to say.
It is a lower paid profession compared to other professions. You will earn more in IT, accounts, or any other industry. The exception might be marketing, but even some parts of marketing will pay more than HR. The good thing about HR is you find out what everyone else is earning within the same organisation, so most HR employees know they are earning comparatively less to people on the same grade/job title as them in other departments.
Recruitment consultancy is different as it is commissioned based, so should be seen as more of a sales based role than HR.
Most HR roles I know in top organisations that are only looking for 2-3 years experience are not paying £50k - possibly £35-40 at best and if you are CIPD qualified, and that tends to be only in London in Banking/Law. Salaries are going up of late, but you'd earn more in other areas of the business.
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I can't compare it to teaching or nursing have never done those careers. I've tried to show why I think women are attracted to HR more than men, I am not really sure what you want me to say.
It is a lower paid profession compared to other professions. You will earn more in IT, accounts, or any other industry. The exception might be marketing, but even some parts of marketing will pay more than HR. The good thing about HR is you find out what everyone else is earning within the same organisation, so most HR employees know they are earning comparatively less to people on the same grade/job title as them in other departments.
Recruitment consultancy is different as it is commissioned based, so should be seen as more of a sales based role than HR.
Most HR roles I know in top organisations that are only looking for 2-3 years experience are not paying £50k - possibly £35-40 at best and if you are CIPD qualified, and that tends to be only in London in Banking/Law. Salaries are going up of late, but you'd earn more in other areas of the business.
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Do you think it makes any sense for one to do a specialised masters in HR at a top business school with CIPD accreditation, and then not work in HR? Is HR 'respectable' as a course at masters level in comparison to, say, pure Management or social sciences?
Original post by William Pitt
Yes this is indeed true. I am not going to try and pretend this is not the case. I am genuinely bothered about how others perceive me. I am worried that in the long term I will indeed suffer from a masculinity crisis, so I prefer to discuss it now. Would you do HR, why and why not?
I've worked in payroll in the past which is similar to HR, but I wouldn't consider a career in HR, I'm quite happy as a nurse. I'm secure in my masculinity, I don't care about other's opinions of whether my job is manly or not, I love my job and find it immensely rewarding.
Original post by Napp
You dont have to be a pretty blonde with a big rack to work in HR anymore no, its evolved slightly from being a receptionist )
Is this a joke or has HR literally evolved from receptionist job?
Original post by moonkatt
I've worked in payroll in the past which is similar to HR, but I wouldn't consider a career in HR, I'm quite happy as a nurse. I'm secure in my masculinity, I don't care about other's opinions of whether my job is manly or not, I love my job and find it immensely rewarding.
Hey you're not kidding right? How on earth did it happen that you've worked in HR and now you're nurse, being a man? This cannot be true?
Original post by J-SP
Most people in HR do a degree (pretty much in any subject) and then do a specialised masters in HR, gaining their CIPD accreditation in the process. But it really doesn't matter where you do the Masters though (well for the UK anyway).
Thank you for the responses, very helpful.
Original post by William Pitt
Hey you're not kidding right? How on earth did it happen that you've worked in HR and now you're nurse, being a man? This cannot be true?
I ended up in payroll work through a temp agency, the work was easy and it paid the bills. I did consider HR work and getting my qualifications but I'm not a fan of the 9-5
I got into nursing as I had an interest in healthcare, looked at ODP but there's a lot more variety in nursing.
And I drink beer, fart and enjoy watching the six nations.
Original post by William Pitt
x
I worked in HR for over a year in 3 different organisations. I would agree it is heavily female dominated but I would not agree that you need to be overly empathetic. HR act for the organisation, not the employees. If you are working in employee relations for example, you are trying to get the best deal for the organisation NOT for the employee. Some of the women I worked with were actually very 'hard' unsympathetic women and the men I have worked with tended to be quiet and quite shy which doesn't really lend itself well to certain areas of HR.
I don't know why more men don't go into HR because it's an essential business function, it operates within the employment law framework at a national and EU level, and if you do CIPD level 7 or the MSc in HR Management you can earn a very good salary out of it. There are also lots of different areas of HR so while you may gain a strong grounding in say recruitment and resourcing, you can go into employee relations, organisational change, learning and development etc if you need a change.
But, I do think there are a few reasons why women would be more attracted to HR. Firstly by nature it's less discriminatory so is suited to women with a family. Secondly, as someone above mentioned, HR came from 'personnel' which was essentially just admin. As employment law has developed HR has become more technical but I think a lot of men probably do still write HR off as 'admin'. And it's worth noting that some HR courses will teach things like organisational and business psychology, psychology being another field which has a high proportion of women in it.
At the end of the day the most important thing about HR is that you need to be good with people. I have seen very well qualified candidates and indeed employees, on paper, be rejected or sacked because they lacked the people skills. It's called 'human' resources for a reason - it's about developing people, sourcing the right people, making sure the right people stay in the organisation, and resolving people issues. Men may not like this kind of work in the same way that they may not want to be a family lawyer, but if you like it, go for it. You can stay in the more legal areas rather than the airy fairy bits like L&D, and the nice thing about HR is that all businesses and organisations will have some kind of HR. I worked in the NHS, but there are private companies also and so you would have a lot of choice over your workplace and environment
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by moonkatt
I ended up in payroll work through a temp agency, the work was easy and it paid the bills. I did consider HR work and getting my qualifications but I'm not a fan of the 9-5
I got into nursing as I had an interest in healthcare, looked at ODP but there's a lot more variety in nursing.
And I drink beer, fart and enjoy watching the six nations.
I got into nursing as I had an interest in healthcare, looked at ODP but there's a lot more variety in nursing.
And I drink beer, fart and enjoy watching the six nations.
Lol thank you for your contribution
Original post by William Pitt
Do you really think so, would you pursue a career in HR? How is it regarded among men in other departments within a given organisation, and by society in general? (compared with, for example, marketing or consulting)
Depends on the person. Personally looking at my mother's career path and the path of her co-workers, it certainly is a rewarding (and highly remunerative, if you work in the right places) field. Just weighing in, I agree 100% with what J-SP said that generalist HR tends to require two extremes a) empathy/coach and b) ruthlessness. Women tend to gravitate to that type of environment within corporations; very cliché and general but an example of this would be how gossip transpires amongst most friend groups of women.
Regardless, I've seen a lot of males do well from the vantage point of my mom's career in HR and I've seen women do well. I think for the most part if you inherently possess what it takes to do well, you will.
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There are some men in HR and a lot of them are very successful. What matters is that you have the right skills for the job. That's what employers look for- the skills, not the gender of the applicant. If you think you'll enjoy working in human resources then go for it. Personally, I wouldn't want to work in HR but if you enjoy the work then apply.
Original post by William Pitt
Could you please elaborate on why you definitely would not want a career in HR? What is your desirable career path
It's not an area that interests me. My strength is with numbers, hence why I've gotten a career in Accounting (my desirable career path). I just feel HR isn't for me, I'm not empathic enough and perhaps my people skills isn't good enough for HR.
(edited 7 years ago)
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