The Association of Women Funeral Directors was formed in 2008, in direct response to the growing numbers of women in funeral service. In 2010, we became the Association of Women Funeral Professionals to more accurately reflect, and fully support, the wide spectrum of women in the field. From the outset, our intention was two-fold: to strengthen the presence of women in the field, and to support our members in creating highly-successful careers, and more enjoyable lives.
More and More Women are Coming to Funeral Service
I speak to hundreds of women who talk openly about the reasons behind their career choice. Often, their decision is a heart-driven one, based on a childhood experience in a funeral home. Many women start as funeral home administrative support or funeral service assistants, and find themselves pulled into more active roles in the funeral home. And more times than I can count I’ve heard the words…
“It’s something I always knew I should do.”
Sound familiar to you?
Journalists have been intrigued by the growing numbers of women in the profession. In a 2006 article, Death Becomes Her, written for the Columbia News Service; Mike Stevens wrote “Long dominated by men, the business of death is increasingly being handled by women. Last year, roughly 57 percent of new mortuary science students were women, according to the American Board of Funeral Service Education.”
This article followed on the heels of a 2004 piece written for the Christian Science Monitor by staff writer Lisa Leigh Connors, Surprisingly, Women Choose Funeral Studies. Quoting Jacquelyn Taylor, executive director of the New England Institute at Mount Ida College in Massachusetts, Connors writes, “Although it’s still more common to see male funeral directors; that’s changing fast.”
According to Connors, “some (female) students are career-changers looking for a more meaningful line of work. Others have simply been intrigued by the business since they were teenagers. But the bottom line for many women in the field is a deep desire to help people during an emotionally difficult time.”
“Women make up more than half the students at the 54 mortuary colleges nationwide today, compared with 5 percent in 1970, says George Connick, executive director of the American Board of Funeral Service Education.” ~ Lisa Leigh Connors, Surprisingly, Women Choose Funeral Service
