Encouraging more men into children’s social work will help improve services and tackle recruitment and retention problems, says academic Jason Loffman. But first we must tackle deep-rooted gender stereotypes about care, he argues.
By Jason Loffman
Children’s social work is facing a recruitment and retention crisis that can no longer be separated from questions of gender.
Men remain significantly underrepresented across the profession, and particularly in children and families services. In 2024, men made up just 12.5% of the children’s social work workforce in English councils, down from 14.8% in 2017 (source: Department for Education).
This downward trend has also affected adults’ services in England, where the proportion of male social workers in England fell from 20% in 2016 to 17% in 2024 (source: Skills for Care).
Social work’s recruitment and retention problems
At the same time, the system is under significant strain. As of September 2024, there were about 7,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) vacancies in child and family social work roles, leaving 17.3% of roles vacant.
Teams are carrying unmanageable caseloads, staff are experiencing high levels of burnout and retention continues to be hugely challenging.
Much of the debate rightly focuses on workload, funding and organisational support. But one critical question is often overlooked: why do so few men choose to work in children’s social work, and why do those who do often struggle to stay?
Being the exception in children’s social work
When I worked as a male social worker in children and families, I was often the exception, sometimes the only man in a team. The reactions are familiar: “You don’t see many men wanting to work with children. It’s good to see a male who is caring.”
These comments are usually meant kindly. But they reveal how narrow our expectations of men in caring roles remain.
Visibility can be a double-edged sword. While many colleagues are supportive, it often feels that being a male social worker in children and families social work needs to be justified. When men work with children and families, their motivations are sometimes viewed as unusual, creating a quiet but powerful sense of difference that others may never notice.
For some male practitioners and students, this contributes to a fragile sense of belonging. Research with male social work students has found that many internalise doubts shaped by societal stereotypes about masculinity and care. These doubts are not about capability or commitment, but about whether they truly “fit” in children’s services (Galley, 2024)
Why boys don’t see caring roles as a future
The roots of this imbalance begin long before people apply for social work courses.
Research into children’s career aspirations consistently shows that boys gravitate towards technical and physical occupations, while girls are drawn towards caring roles. This is not biological destiny, but social learning. Children absorb powerful messages about who care is “for” long before they choose GCSEs, let alone degrees (Chambers et al, 2018).
Media representations reinforce this divide. Men are far more likely to be portrayed as perpetrators, sources of risk or emotionally distant figures than as carers, nurturers or relational professionals. Care is feminised. Masculinity is framed through toughness, detachment or control.
By the time boys reach adolescence, many caring professions, including social work, early years, nursing and support roles, are already perceived as “not for them”.
This matters for workforce planning. If much of the male half the population quietly rules out caring careers at an early age, recruitment initiatives at university level are already working with a limited pool.
What men bring to children’s services
Encouraging more men into social work is not about replacing women. It is about broadening who feels able to belong and strengthening teams through diversity.
There is a need to encourage more men into social work and social care by not reducing people to stereotypes. For social work and social care this is about widening the door so more people feel they belong in the profession.
Caring, empathy, and professionalism aren’t owned by any one gender, and teams are stronger when they reflect a wider mix of experiences and perspectives.
The men I have worked alongside and the male students I have had the privilege to teach consistently challenge stereotypes. They are warm, reflective, emotionally intelligent practitioners. They build trusting relationships with children, families and adults who may never have experienced a safe or consistent male presence in their lives.
Their contribution does not displace that of women; it complements it.
For some children and young people, seeing men in caring, emotionally available roles can be quietly powerful. It challenges narrow ideas about masculinity and helps demonstrate that care, empathy and vulnerability are human qualities rather than gendered ones.
A sense of belonging
Recruitment is only part of the challenge. Retention matters just as much.
Men entering children’s services need to feel that they belong, not that they are exceptional, suspect or constantly visible.
Inclusive professional cultures benefit everyone, not just male practitioners. When teams value relational skills, reflective practice and emotional literacy across the board, staff wellbeing improves.
Addressing gendered assumptions is therefore not a distraction from the workforce crisis. It is part of the solution.
Changing the narrative on men in care
The Men Do Care campaign I started at the University of Lancashire grew from a simple frustration: that men who work in care remain largely invisible, and that boys are rarely encouraged to see caring roles as viable, respected futures.
If we want children’s social work to thrive, we need to widen the pipeline into the profession. That means challenging how masculinity is portrayed in education, media and professional spaces. It means showing boys that care is not a contradiction of masculinity, but one of its most demanding and meaningful expressions.
Care should not be gendered. But until our culture and professional environments reflect that belief, the absence of men from children’s social work will not be a mystery.
It will be a consequence.
Find out more about the Men Do Care campaign.
Jason Loffman is senior lecturer in social work at the University of Lancashire and previously worked as a children’s social worker. He is conducting a PhD on the impact of gender on male social workers’ professional identities.
