Education and the masculinization of hospital administration

Abstract

Purpose – Hospital administration in the USA represents a rare instance of a female‐dominated occupation that masculinized. Advocacy for the change in social identity began in the early decades of the twentieth century and had succeeded by the second half of the century. The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of university programs in hospital administration to the change.Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of the American Hospital Association's Guide to Hospitals, of journals published during the study period, and of archival material from universities, hospitals, as well as the American College of Healthcare Executives.Findings – Graduate programs in hospital administration contributed to the occupation's masculinization because they admitted virtually no female students. At the same time, many hospitals switched to untrained male administrators even before graduates became available in significant numbers. This reflects normative and mimetic pressures to retain a male administrator...