Comparative study of male librarians and male information managers with specific reference to job satisfaction and career choice

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to uncover some of the issues relating to career choice and job satisfaction for male librarians and information managers, and to uncover any important differences between the two, in order to understand to a greater degree the reasons for such low male recruitment within libraries compared with information management. I chose to do a quantitative survey in order to research this topic. Some expected and some interesting results came forth from this research and provided some room for understanding the problem of low male recruitment within Librarianship. It was discovered that in the area of job satisfaction there was not a significant difference between Librarianship and Information Management to explain the different ratios of male recruitment in these realms, although the areas of pay, rewards and benefits were areas of contention. However, when it came to career choice a number of factors came to light. Two significant areas of difference between the realms were the awareness of a negative male stereotype within Librarianship and the high level of gender imbalance, both of which have potentially bad effects on males entering this realm. Official support and promotion were both shown as causing a potential hindrance to male recruitment in both of the realms of librarianship and information management.