Female Funeral Directors

L AT ISHA HENSLEY

ENGL ISH 2010

L ARA ASPLUND

Undertaker Louise Ryan. Photograph: Andrew Lloyd/WALES NEWS SERVICE

History

In the mid 1800’s caring for the dead was originally viewed as a woman's role and usually took place in the home

Women were once called “Shrouding women” and were expected to collect the remains and prepare them for burial

Men at that time were responsible for building the coffin and digging the grave

The Civil War was the turning point in the funeral industry, moving towards a male dominated field

Embalming started to be more acceptable because families wanted their loved ones to be returned home

Men started to prepare the remains for burial and later found that funerary services could be commercialized

Women were pushed out of the field due to the business side of things

Women became disallowed from being a part of the business; this was now a man’s job

Facts

Over the years the percentage of female students has surpassed the number of male students

Today more and more women are attending school to become funeral directors

The number of female funeral directors has increased by 38% between 1974 and 2010

The number of female funeral directors to date has not been accumulated, yet

Even though the number of woman has been increasing over the years, this field is still predominately dominated by men

“It wasn’t until 2000 that the number of women equaled the number of men graduating from the U.S. mortuary Schools.” (Funeral Divas)

Comparison between female and male students attending

school

Female Students Male Students0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

0.35

0.65

0.5 0.5

0.6

0.4

0.57

0.43

Mortuary Science Students

1995 2000 2010 2014

More Facts

Family owned funeral services is a tradition that has been passed onto the men for many years

It wasn’t until the mid to late 1900’s that women became more visible in the funerary business

Since then, more women have attended school and graduated

Women have taken on the tradition of family-owned companies (to keep their family businesses alive)

Some women in this field have no family ties to a family business

More and more women are interested in this business and are finding jobs were they can because they want to help people

As of 2010, the number of female funeral directors was 43% and male funeral directors was 57%, women seem to be closing in on the last 7% toward equal division of gender within the field, but again recent numbers haven’t been tallied nationally

Progression of Female Funeral Directors

Female Male0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0.05

0.95

0.43

0.57

Funeral Directors

About 1974 2010

Research 5 States were researched to find the total number of registered funeral homes today:

Utah, North Dakota, Washington, Texas, and New Jersey

The research was done using the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) and the individual states’ Funeral Directors Associations

Total number of registered funeral homes for each state was added to the individual states’ FDA

The 5 states were picked from different territories of the U.S. to show the difference in sectors of the country

The East coast is about even in terms of the number of funeral homes

The West coast and Midwest, like the East coast, is about even in terms of the number of funeral homes

States from different territories Compared

Total Number of Funeral Homes Funeral Homes with Website0

100

200

300

400

500

600

8553

79 73

115100

575

247

593

435

Number of Funeral Homes In Five States

Utah North Dakota Washington Texas New Jersey

Utah – Home State

Where all research started

North Dakota – Midwest

Washington – West coast

Texas – Southern

New Jersey – East coast

Research5 States were researched to find the number of female funeral directors today:

Utah, North Dakota, Washington, Texas, and New Jersey

The research was done using the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) and the individual states’ Funeral Directors Associations

Data to find female funeral directors was only collected from the funeral homes that were registered with the NFDA and with a website

All other funeral homes without a website were considered “unknowns” and no data report could be drawn

The numbers of male funeral directors nationally is only an estimate at this point

Funeral Directors to Date

Femal Funeral Directors Male Funeral Directors0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

5

96

9

128

15

170

74

346

116

638

Comparison Between Female and Male Funeral Directors

Utah North Dakota Washington Texas New Jersey

Registered Female Directors:

Utah: 5

North Dakota: 9

Washington: 15

Texas: 74

New Jersey: 116

Estimated Registered Male Directors:

Utah: 96

North Dakota: 128

Washington: 170

Texas: 346

New Jersey: 638

CitationsRotondaro, V. (2011, March 25). Women funeral directors: starting to dominate the death care industry. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2011/03/funeral_divas.html

Passey Media Design (n.d.). Funeral Homes | Utah Funeral Directors Association. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.ufda.org/funeral_homes.php

Consolidated Funeral Services (CFS) (2014). North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from http://www.ndfda.org/pg/ndk/directory.php

FrontRunner Professional (2013). Find A Funeral Home - Listed by City. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://www.wsfda.org/Find_A_Funeral_Home_-_Listed_by_City_993168.html

FrontRunner Professional (2013). Funeral Homes. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://www.tfda.com/Funeral_Homes_488035.html

New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association (2014). NJSFDA > Professional Home > About NJSFDA > Member Directory > Find a Funeral Home. Retrieved February 29, 2014, from https://web.njsfda.org/public/professional-home/about-njsfda/member-directory/find-a-funeral-home.aspx

Wales News Service (2013, July 3). The Changing Face of The Funeral Profession [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.acremation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/female-funeral-director.jpg