One of the 4%

A Male Perspective on Diversity in the Field of Dietetics

By Joseph Nilges

I started out as a culinary student, working my way from job to job on a yearly basis. After competing in a cooking competition and winning a bronze medal, I knew that I had reached new heights in my career, but I didn’t feel like this accomplishment was enough. I soon found the number for the Saint Louis University Nutrition & Dietetics office and transferred into their program the following semester. Now, after 4 consecutive years attending Saint Louis University, I have discovered how little diversity there is within the field of dietetics. 

Coming into dietetics with a culinary background I was always part of the majority, now I am of the smallest minority and adapting to the change was challenging.

One of the 4% reflects how little diversity there really is within the dietetics field. As of February 19, 2018 the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics reported 3,690 (3.8%) male registered dietitians floating among 88,883 (90.6%) female registered dietitians (RD), leaving 5.6% unreported. Of the total 98,000 registered dietitians white ethnicity represented the majority at 77.8% with unreported coming in 2nd at 7%. Over the next few paragraphs we will discuss why there are not more males in dietetics, barriers that can be challenging for males within the field, and what the future might hold for bringing more males into the profession.

Where Are All The...

The gender discrepancy can be traced back to the 1920’s where therapeutic diet treatments were entrusted to senior hospital nurses who had developed certain skills. Nursing had risen to become a female profession until recently, so it is not surprising that males do not make a majority. There are many different reasons why we do not see more male dietitians in the field, one of them being that the educational pipeline that helps drive interest in the field of dietetics does not start early enough within the school system. The educational pipeline refers to the integrated system of institutions from primary school to university that seeks to attract students to colleges with a goal of attaining the skilled individuals in the workforce. 

The Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics noted that active, committed participation with academia is crucial for addressing the low percentage of diversity in dietetics. This participation is negatively influenced by parental and peer group perceptions of college attendance often based on financial measures, substandard academic preparation, lack of support among teachers and guidance counselors who have lower academic expectations, inadequate guidance through college planning and financial aid process, perceptions of dietetics being a “woman” field, lower salary received for amount of education involved, and difficulty among some groups of academic requirements to name a few.  

“People still see dietitians as hairnet-wearing women who act as food police. There are also things that prevent men from entering dietetics such as low pay for dietitians” – Rick Hall, MS, RD Arizona State University

Overcoming Difficulty

Men that are thinking about entering the field of dietetics I have some personal advice for you. First off, be prepared to have feeling of being different and finding personal identity. Second, be prepared to adapt to the profession through different means of communication with the female majority. Third, be prepared to stand out among the profession. 

1.              Be prepared to have feelings of being different and finding personal identity.

Being a male in dietetics can have its difficulties. I have personally felt the feeling of

being different and finding my place within the profession during my undergraduate and graduate degrees at Saint Louis University. I commonly have felt disconnection with my class mates and coworkers based on the fact that I am male and women interact differently with one another. Often I have found myself conforming to the norms of the dietetics profession, such as personally feeling more pressure from preceptors to perform at a specific level. 

2.          Be prepared to adapt to the current norms.

Often I have found myself feeling like I was alone and conforming myself to fit the norms of the female dominated dietetics profession. I found that a strong sense of self -identity, self-awareness, and open communication with peers were the best ways for myself to overcome this barrier. Surrounding myself with a strong support system of friends and family was also beneficial for me to confront my disconnect  with feeling of being an outsider.

3.        Be prepared to stand out among the profession and bring a voice.

Being able to stand out for males seems to be easier and can have advantages although performance standards seem to be heightened for male students. The opportunities for males within dietetics are continually growing, so employers want to assure that if they hire a male dietitian they will bring new ideas to the table, which could put more pressure on male dietitians. There is also a need for males to project their voice to help to bring more males into the dietetics profession. Bringing a voice and advocating for more males in the profession is an important part of being a minority in any profession to help increase diversity in the field. 

Passion seems to be one of the drivers of success for males in the dietetics. 

Future of male involvement in dietetics

The most important influence for diversity in dietetics is to involve more stakeholders into the equation including: parents, students, teachers, counselors, teaching programs, and advising boards and governmental officials alike that can influence policy change to introduce greater involvement of nutrition education and knowledge of dietetics. It is important that male dietitians project a voice to appeal for more men recruitment, but it is not only the responsibility of the minority groups to do so. Everyone along the institutional learning process must get involved and work together to change the future generation of practitioners. 

References:

Eat right ™. Commission on Dietetic Registration the credentia ling agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (2018, February 19). Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://www.cdrnet.org/registry-statistics?id=2579&actionxm=ByDemographics

Flowers in the urinal: Is the lack of men in dietetics really an issue? (2015, October 15). Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://www.dietitians.ca/Learn/Practice-Blog/October-2015/Flowers-in-the-urinal-Is-the-lack-of-men-in-diete.aspx

Lordly, D., Gheller, B., & Joy, P. (2017). Becoming and being a male dietitian in a female dominated dietetics profession. Retrieved February 24, 2018, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?site=eds&scope=site&jrnl=14863847&AN=124595822&h=r%2faMJj0l1muk%2faCdmmiA0kBioVQ8bSKyFJwV%2fywGf0Q8lwV43PckvpDVyLu6ZJDGeMxELgRkAjpYJCRSK9BNjA%3d%3d&crl=c&resultLocal=ErrCrlNoResults&resultNs=Ehost&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d14863847%26AN%3d124595822

Stein, K. (2018). The Educational Pipeline and Diversity in Dietetics. [online] jandonline.org. Available at: http://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(12)00481-9/fulltext [Accessed 26 Feb. 2018].

Images are credited to google images and personal photos.