Drive aims to increase number of men in early years education in UK

A drive is under way to increase the number of men working with the youngest children in the education system, drawing on the success of Norway, which has the highest percentage of male early years professionals in the world.According to latest statistics, just 2% of the early years education (EYE) workforce in the UK is male, a figure that has remained static for decades despite previous targets and greater shared childcare between men and women in the home.Researchers from Lancaster University and the Fatherhood Institute have launched a two-year study to try to understand the obstacles preventing more men from joining the EYE workforce and identify possible solutions to improve gender diversity in early years settings.