Dr. Emily Murphy:

I thank the Deputy for the questions. I will address the representation of men in care work. The Deputy asked for an example. Research has shown that once they are in care work, it is deemed to be fulfilling work for many people. It is interesting to consider how to encourage more men to take that step towards a care occupation. It comes back to a question posed earlier about the role of collective bargaining. To encourage more men to go into care occupations, some of which need to be professionalised further, one would have to change the conditions of the job to make it more attractive. This includes scheduling, which we have not discussed much, including work hours. It also includes accounting for the skills required and whether there are professional pathways. There is a role for education and training, particularly vocational training systems, to increase the perception that there is a career in caring, as opposed to it being a job with bad hours and bad pay.