Considering The Challenges Faced by Women in Funeral Service

Request from Kim Stacey: As a freelance writer and copywriter, I have had the good fortune to work with funeral homes around the country. Part of my job has been to interview funeral directors, regarding their demographics, services and competition – and, quite frankly, this is the part of the writer’s job that I truly enjoy.

Quite often, our conversations lead us in unexpected directions. This happens most frequently when I’m speaking with a funeral director who happens to be a woman.

What I’ve come to learn is that women in the field are faced with unique challenges. The fine women I’ve spoken with have shared their experiences of being undervalued and discounted by their male colleagues; that they must go ‘one step further’ to prove themselves to be worthy of their respect. This is, of course, not always the case; but it’s come up often enough to make me believe there’s a wonderful ‘story’ here to tell.

We all know that women are different from men – that’s a ‘no-brainer.’ But, when you couple those differences with the essential nature of funeral service, I’m sure that women funeral professionals view their work differently than the men they work beside. Perhaps these differences are subtle, but I can imagine that even so, they impact the day-to-day lives of these women.

I’m hoping to connect with women funeral directors and embalmers around the globe, to engage in a conversation (by phone or email) about the particular issues they face as women in a predominantly male field.

And, for that matter, I’d love to speak with any male funeral professional regarding his perceptions of the women in funeral service.

How about it? Anyone “game” to explore the dynamic gender relationships and perceptions which affect your professional lives?

I welcome your comments to this blog post, of course – we could get an exciting dialog going if enough of us get involved. If you’re willing to be interviewed for this ‘study,’ I’d love to be able to reply to you privately.

Please Contact Me: kimstacey@sbcglobal.net

or http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimstacey