The occupational nature of gender

Background: Gender is transacted through people’s occupational performance. Although most occupations are not exclusively performed by a particular gender in our postmodern society, gender-specific differences in the manner... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Gender is transacted through people’s occupational performance. Although most occupations are not exclusively performed by a particular gender in our postmodern society, gender-specific differences in the manner of performance still exist. If gender and occupation are interdependent, how can we describe the occupational nature of gender?
Method:
An analytical comparison was made between the results of an in-depth literature research and the results of a multiple narrative case study about the experiences of four transgender adults concerning their occupational transitions during their gender identity development.
Results:
The findings show that the transaction between gender and occupation starts at the beginning of gender identity development and continues throughout life. These findings give a valuable insight into relations between gender and how occupations are performed with regard to learnt conventions or in naturally preferred ways.
Conclusion:
There is a lack of knowledge in the literature on occupational therapy and science as to how gender and occupation influence each other. Understanding the occupational nature of gender and raising awareness of the mutual dependency of occupation and gender is essential in order to provide holistic occupational therapy service and to expand the body of knowledge of the occupational science discipline. Further research on this topic is required to achieve this objective.
Application to Practice:
Recommendations for practice are given in order to facilitate the awareness of the transaction of gender and occupation on different aspects of occupation.