Slightly more up-to-date data:
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/human-capital-and-risk/...There is, indeed, a movement to bring more men into the nursing profession.
"Although all of the benefits of becoming a nurse would plausibly outshine any kind of challenges nurses face...there are still reasons that prevent men from eagerly pursuing a career in nursing. Even today, despite the growth in healthcare, nursing is still perceived as a field that is less prestigious, and so requires less training and education. One male student, named Gillis, noted that a recent graduate of Stanford, who was interested in a nursing program, was told, “Stanford grads don’t become nurses.” There were also students, ones who excelled in school, but were also told something along the lines of, “You’re too smart to become a nurse.” Also, there’s that old sense that men still feel as if nursing is a female profession, and so men choose to pursue a field that’ll be viewed as more appropriate for men.
"Of the nearly five hundred [male nurses] who participated [in a survey] 73 percent claimed that negative stereotypes of men working as nurses realistically contributed to the shortage, 59 percent noted that what might deter men was that nursing has always, especially in previous generations, been seen as a female profession, and the rest, 42 percent felt that men lacked male models and mentors within the field."
http://everynurse.org/men-entering-predominantly-female-care...
https://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2017/mar/01/w...
Even more, men have some advantages in the nursing profession.
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2015/03/124266/male-registered-nur...
https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/blog/2014/04/why-do-...
https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/blog/2014/08/women-i...