Department
Speech-Language Pathology
Format of Presentation
Poster
Research Category
Health Sciences
Description
A gender disparity exists in the field of speech-language pathology, and it is recognized in the American Speech and Hearing Association’s demographic report. In Mississippi, 98.4% of SLPs are female and 1.6% are male (ASHA, 2022). Given the numbers presented by ASHA, awareness of speech-language pathology amongst male college students comes into question. According to ASHA’s Strategic Pathway to Excellence, objective #6 is to increase diversity/equity/inclusion within the Association and the discipline (ASHA, 2023). A goal of this research study is to identify the barriers and awareness level of males in health-related undergraduate majors. This information would better facilitate how recruitment and stereotypes should be addressed in speech-language pathology. An online survey will be used for this study to gather information from male college students who are enrolled in health related majors at The Mississippi University for Women to gain more insight on why the ratio of men to women in the speech-language pathology department is so vast and what may deter males from majoring in speech-language pathology. We will reach out to the head of the department of each of these health related majors to get permission to give the survey using the website “Qualtrics” as our method. This method is easy to use and is customizable because there are different themes, images, and other features to choose from. The questionnaire will be made prior to January 2024 and will be passed out and collected over a two-week period at the beginning of spring semester.
Recommended Citation
King, Karli; McDonald, Audrey; Casey, Caroline; Stewart, Adrienne; and Cotton, Catherine L., "Why is speech language pathology considered a gendered profession amongst male college students in health related majors?" (2024). Undergraduate Research Conference. 9.
https://athenacommons.muw.edu/urc/2024/posters-ii/9
Included in
Why is speech language pathology considered a gendered profession amongst male college students in health related majors?
A gender disparity exists in the field of speech-language pathology, and it is recognized in the American Speech and Hearing Association’s demographic report. In Mississippi, 98.4% of SLPs are female and 1.6% are male (ASHA, 2022). Given the numbers presented by ASHA, awareness of speech-language pathology amongst male college students comes into question. According to ASHA’s Strategic Pathway to Excellence, objective #6 is to increase diversity/equity/inclusion within the Association and the discipline (ASHA, 2023). A goal of this research study is to identify the barriers and awareness level of males in health-related undergraduate majors. This information would better facilitate how recruitment and stereotypes should be addressed in speech-language pathology. An online survey will be used for this study to gather information from male college students who are enrolled in health related majors at The Mississippi University for Women to gain more insight on why the ratio of men to women in the speech-language pathology department is so vast and what may deter males from majoring in speech-language pathology. We will reach out to the head of the department of each of these health related majors to get permission to give the survey using the website “Qualtrics” as our method. This method is easy to use and is customizable because there are different themes, images, and other features to choose from. The questionnaire will be made prior to January 2024 and will be passed out and collected over a two-week period at the beginning of spring semester.