Call for more male carers.

More male care workers are needed to look after older people, the chief executive of Care England says.

Prof Martin Green says the government should do more to recruit men into front-line adult social care roles.

Government statistics show 84% of carers across the sector in England are women, and just 16% are men, the same as in 2012.

Prof Green said: "We have an ageing population and a lot of people who receive care into old age now are men. The majority of carers are women. When it comes to personal care in particular, some men prefer this to be done by a male rather than female."

He said that ‘entrenched societal perceptions’ stop men from considering care work. “The problem is people always see caring roles as being female roles. We need to make society understand that everyone has the potential to be carer.

"The government could be much more systematic in its approach. It could make sure that every school understands that care career paths are for men as well as women, they could portray more men in government information on care roles, and they should put more emphasis on reaching out to men when they advertise care role vacancies.

"This is about every arm of government working to change the perception that care roles are just for women. More importantly, it's about every citizen examining their own pre-conceived notions of who delivers care."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "We would encourage more people, including men, to join the social care workforce.

"There are a wide range of opportunities for both men and women and we have published guidance on how care companies can attract more men to the profession.

"Hundreds of thousands of care workers will benefit when we introduce the National Living Wage, which will also help encourage more people to join the sector."