80% of clinical psychologists are women. What is being done to address this gender imbalance?

Oct 5

Intro: This is the second of a two-part article. In Part I we saw that men make up only about 20% of clinical psychologists. For a field so focused on equality, this is a very large elephant in the room. Here, in the second part of this article, efforts to address this disparity - and responses to these efforts - are discussed.

At the University of Bath in 2015, only one male secured a place as a clinical psychology trainee. At Kings College London (KCL) only 1 6 % of men secured a place for entry in 2020. These figures are not uncommon. What is currently being done to help reduce the gender imbalance in clinical psychology? Some universities are amending selection procedures (e.g. KCL). Others are going out to schools and colleges to promote clinical psychology to men, destigmatisin g the profess ion, such as Newcastle and Leeds Universities. Universit y of Bath is amending staff training, and from 2015 each male applicant has been interviewed by at least one male interviewer. Southampton has stated on the Clearing H ouse websi te that they are seeking a ‘gender mix where possible’.KCL have amended their selection procedure for the upcoming 2022 cohort, whereby ‘male sex’ is a protected characteristic alongside disability and race. The male sex is a protected characteristic with the Equali ty Act, and KCL are to be commended for being proactive on this issue. Note that implementing ‘male sex’ as a protected characteristic does not mean male applicants will automatically be accepted. Rather, being male is a characteristic that will be taken into consideration, in addition to the candidate’s application form, their education, clinical and work experience, all of which will be rated by a variety of scorers.

“It isn’t about saying men are better, or wanting to reduce female representation, it is about addressing a massive imbalance that, in the end, could put male patients at a disadvantage.”

To many people, these changes are very welcome although very overdue. On the other hand, when KCL reported their amendment to the selection procedure on Twitter, there was a barrage of tweets opposing the idea. The majority appeared to be from current female trainees, who seemingly ignored the fact that they represent 84% of the profession.

Here is a flavour of some of those tweets:

- ‘Since when have men been discriminated against?’

- ‘I was applying to kings but now it looks like as I’m not a man, I won’t get on. Men have enough privilege as it is over women’

- ‘Perhaps the problem is to why other sciences are majority men, before pushing out females in psychology’

- ‘Men are overrepresented in the upper levels of psychology despite being a minority in the profession’
- ‘Being male and in positions of power within the profession was the norm and still tends to be the case’
- ‘In interviews, it has always been a white male, so I can’t see how exactly they are underrepresented’

It isn’t about saying men are better, or wanting to reduce female representation, it is about addressing a massive imbalance that, in the end, could put male patients at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, suicide rates are still significantly higher in men than women, especially in males aged between 45-64 ye ars old. Men’s mental health problems are apparent in other ways too e.g. men are twice as likely as women to suffer from substance abuse. It could be argued that more male psychologists are needed based on the innate energy and perspective that they can bring both in making services more male friendly, but also conducting research to explore, investigate and to apply the findings into clinical practice, working closely with both male and female colleagues. However all too often, such arguments fall on deaf ears.

“Clinical psychology is a workplace that is publicly funded, so why are such great discrepancies permitted?”

I feel that when it comes to any issue for a man wanting equality, it is completely ignored or significantly challenged, with the intention for it to be dismissed. Furthermore, feminism is open to accusations of double standards when it promotes equality from a female perspective but not from a male perspective. I felt that the messages on Twitter were vindictive, fuelled by theories based on ideas about the historical privileges of men, and overlooking the hard, solid facts in front of them: that women are the privileged majority within clinical psychology and too many men with mental health problems are not seeking help from them. Yes, men – or at least some men - historically enjoyed a position of privilege, but the profession of psychology – male and female – should be less about focusing on disgruntled histories and more about supporting the patients – male and female – we are supposed to serve.

If the gender imbalance was reversed, the reaction to it would be a completely different story. At present though, we are disabling a healthy balance in all sorts of ways, with all sorts of consequences. For example, within multi-disciplinary meetings, a massive gender imbalance is restricting insights that could help patients if we had a more male-friendly health service. This situation in fact perpetuates men not seeking the support that they need, which is devastating. Clinical psychology is a workplace that is publicly funded, so why are such great discrepancies permitted?

“I have been told many times that I must ‘be gay’ because ‘psychology is only for women, why don’t you get a ‘proper job’”

Trying to address the gender imbalance within clinical psychology is complex. I am unsure what the solution is, but perhaps we need to create a collaboration with the 30 universities in the UK that offer clinical psychology training that are funded by the taxpayer, to help affect positive change. The point is to work together to enable shared insight and skills, and for patients to have the best psychological support and outcomes. Southampton, KCL, Leeds, Newcastle and Bath are leading by example and their efforts should be recognised formally by the BPS, and other universities should follow suit.

Outreach to schools, increasing awareness of psychology and developing interest from male pupils, is a good idea though it will be 5-10 years+ before a new cohort will have the chance to get on to doctorate programmes. Debunking the view that the profession of psychology is for females only, and that you must have feminine qualities to be a psychologist, needs to be done early. I have been told many times that I must ‘be gay’ because ‘psychology is only for women, why don’t you get a ‘proper job’, ‘surely you should get the hint that you’ve been rejected three times for training and you aren’t good enough to be a psychologist’. I have frequently needed to remind myself of the reasons I am training to be a clinical psychologist, and if a patient can sit in front of me for 50 minutes and then leave with 1% less psychological distress, I know it has been worth this 10+ year rollercoaster journey. It seems likely that young men will appreciate the importance of clinical psychology more if they realise that it is a field in which they can make a real difference.

Because it would take a decade or so to grow a new cohort of male clinical psychology trainees from school outreach programmes, a mixture of different innovative strategies, such as those mentioned at the start of this article, is required for the more immediate improvement that is required by our present mental health crisis. Only time will tell which strategies are the most efficacious, but the courage of the universities who are taking the bold and necessary steps required is to be praised and encouraged among all universities.

Scroll down to join the discussion

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, legal advice, or other professional opinion. Never disregard such advice because of this article or anything else you have read from the Centre for Male Psychology. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of, or are endorsed by, The Centre for Male Psychology, and we cannot be held responsible for these views. Read our full disclaimer here.