Female Funeral Directors

1. Female Funeral Directors Undertaker Louise Ryan. Photograph: Andrew Lloyd/WALES NEWS SERVICE Latisha Hensley English 2010 Lara Asplund

2. 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

3. 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)

4. Comparison between female and male students attending school

5. 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

6. Progression of Female Funeral Directors

7. 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

8. States from different territories Compared Utah – Home State Where all research started North Dakota – Midwest Washington – West coast Texas – Southern New Jersey – East coast

9. Research 5 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

10. Funeral Directors to Date 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

11. Citations • Rotondaro, 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 • FrontRunnerProfessional (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 • FrontRunnerProfessional (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