Hardly ever in "field service"

Women rarely dare to become funeral directors

Only 36 percent of employees in funeral homes are female - and hardly any women do "field services".

(Bild: stock.adobe.com - ROBERT HOETINK)

As in many other sectors, there is a considerable gender gap in the funeral industry. There are still hardly any women to be found in the "field service" in particular. According to the expert, this is probably also due to the fact that women rarely have the confidence to take on this job. 

Nevertheless, women are increasingly finding their way into the funeral industry: around 36 percent of those working in the funeral sector in Austria are female. "That used to be different," says Silvia Vertetics, authorized signatory at Bestattung Himmelblau. Even though Vertetics admits that there is still a gender gap in two key professions and that it is still mainly men who work in "field service".

Only women in one area
"We currently only have women in the consulting area," explains Vertetics. In contrast, the funeral professionals in the "field service", who handle the collection of the deceased and arrange the funeral, are mostly male. Vertetics confirms that this distribution in the funeral home, which now also operates in Graz and Munich, certainly corresponds to the current image within the industry - even if this trend has softened somewhat in recent years.

Common clichés as an obstacle
"Of course, you do have certain physical challenges as a funeral director, because you have to collect the deceased and lift the coffins." Women are often not confident in this profession. It is not for nothing that Vertetics mentions the cliché of taciturn "men in black suits and white gloves" in this context. "This image often still prevails." Efforts are also being made to make it attractive for women to enter the industry.

Current figures on the proportion of men and women are not available - partly because morticians are recorded by the Chamber of Commerce together with chimney sweeps and the corresponding data was first calculated two years ago. In 2023, around 36 percent of employees were female according to the Chamber's figures.

"Gnä' Frau tans das ned"
 One of them is Jasmin Kreuzer. She found her way into the industry after training as a bereavement counselor, is now a funeral consultant and manages two Himmelblau branches. Before she reoriented herself, things were very different. "At the time, I was sitting in the office of another funeral home and said to the employee that it could actually be quite interesting. All he said to me in response was: 'Madam, you can't do that'."

According to Kreuzer, it is important that the job gets out of the taboo zone and is also aspired to by women, not because women are ahead of men in the funeral profession. "There are just as many empathetic men as empathetic women," says the branch manager. "In the end, it's all about diversity."