Gender Bias against Male Nurses in India: A Review of Literature on Stereotyping, Workplace Discrimination, And Barriers to Professional Advancement

Nursing continues to be perceived worldwide as a feminine occupation, and men who enter the profession in India remain a numerical minority who report distinctive workplace challenges. This review synthesises existing published literature on the nature and extent of gender bias experienced by male nurses in India, with the objective of mapping the historical background, the current magnitude of underrepresentation, the forms of stereotyping and workplace discrimination reported, and the implications for nursing administration and health policy. A narrative literature review was conducted using PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and SAGE Journals, covering peer-reviewed articles, WHO and government workforce reports, and relevant Indian court proceedings, published largely between 2019 and 2025, using combinations of the terms “male nurses”, “gender bias”, “stereotype”, “workplace discrimination” and “India”. The review found that men constitute roughly one-fifth of the Indian nursing workforce, a figure above the global average of about 10% yet still well short of parity, and that male nurses commonly report being questioned about their competence and motives, being restricted from maternity, gynaecology and paediatric postings, being treated as “muscle” for lifting or restraining patients rather than as full caregivers, and facing delayed promotion and limited institutional support. Statutory and administrative rules restricting nursing roles by sex have also been challenged in Indian courts and remain a live policy dispute: the 80:20 female-to-male reservation applied in AIIMS Nursing Officer recruitment through NORCET, the exclusion of men from the Armed Forces’ Military Nursing Service under a 1943 Ordinance, and admission rules confining undergraduate B.Sc. (Hons) Nursing courses at AIIMS and Delhi-affiliated institutions to female candidates only. At the same time, patient-perception studies suggest attitudes are gradually shifting, with a majority of surveyed patients expressing no explicit gender preference for their nurse. The review concludes that structural and attitudinal bias against male nurses persists in India despite a growing and needed workforce, and that gender-neutral recruitment policy, sensitisation of co-workers and supervisors, and public awareness are needed to support the equitable participation of men in the profession.

male nurses; gender bias; nursing profession; workplace discrimination; India

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