Navigating the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Nursing: Voices of Black Canadian Male Nurses

Studies into the experiences of Black nurses in Canada's healthcare system provide policymakers with a deeper understanding into designing policies and practice guidelines to best support equity and diversity. With male nurses making up 9% of the nursing population in Canada, there remains a paucity of studies into their experiences and significantly less for Black male nurses (BMNs). The World Health Organization's call for more nurses means an increase in Internationally Educated and Canadian-born BMNs who will experience sociocultural stereotypes and biases that underpin nursing practices. BMNs are left to navigate intersections of race and gender power relations within nursing. Remaining invisible and voiceless within nursing literature, and discriminated against in the workplace culture, this study uses an exploratory qualitative approach to understand the experiences of six BMNs working in the Greater Toronto Area and the strategies they use to navigate the intersections of race and gender that sustain the negative stereotypes and tropes of the Black man. The findings disclose the need for policymakers, nursing administrators, and organizations to co-create policies that support dynamically tailored mentorship programs and practice guidelines when dismantling anti-Black racism and promote inclusivity and a sense of belonging.