My mother, who has stage 2 Alzheimer’s, is cared for at home (my sisters and I share her care equally so that one of us is always around). Recently it has become clear that we need some help, especially at night. Alzheimer’s-related dementia often goes hand in hand with insomnia and it is difficult to care for someone when the carer cannot rest properly – a point sadly missed by the government when it conceived the wretched bedroom tax. So we looked for a live-in carer who could keep an eye on her during the night, while the SoS – sibling on shift – got some rest.

Through trial and error it became clear that mum reacted better to a male live-in carer than a female one. This was partly because she seemed to perceive a woman living in her space as more of a rival and partly because the daily routines of coaxing and cajoling were facilitated by her flirtatious attitude to men. We set out to find a male nurse but it was not easy. Once we narrowed the field, the agency could offer fewer options and they came at a premium.

Ours is not an isolated problem. Discussing the steady outperforming of men by women in university entries on Newsnight last night, the chief executive of Ucas, Mary Curnock Cook, explained: “There are a lot of initiatives to get women to do ... STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] subjects, but what about the huge imbalance in the number of men going into teaching, social work and nursing in which there is a bigger [gender] gap the other way around?” Indeed, she thought there could be a connection between the relatively poorer academic performance by boys throughout school and the lack of male role models in teaching positions, especially in primary schools.

Focusing on education as a mere path to the highest possible pay cheque rather than a way of exploring talent, aptitude and unlocking potential certainly does not help.

Right now, we would need an extra 7,000 men going into education and 10,000 each for psychology and social work subjects to redress the balance. The number needed in nursing is an astounding 20,000. An acquaintance recently described how he was advised by his GP to see a therapist to address his crippling shyness around women – something that had caused him severe depression. The possibilities for referral in his area included two male therapists and more than a dozen female ones. Two months later, he is still on a waiting list.

Of course, every man – graduate or not – going into any profession is still entering a world generally crafted around and suited to men; a world in which workplace discrimination and gender wage gaps insidiously persist. It’s natural to say this is not really a problem – men have it easy. But consider this, my current family conundrum involves my mother, my sisters and me. The lack of practical solutions affects both women and men.

These are merely facets of the same coin. While we continue to have female-dominated professions, the opposite will also exist. It is only by knocking down gender stereotypes of all kinds that we can begin to focus on a society that encourages children towards the things they are good at and have an affinity for, and that begins to cast both women and men in roles based on aptitude that can address everyone’s wider practical needs.