INDUSTRY & TRENDS
Women Are Transforming the Funeral Industry and Families Are Noticing
For much of American history, funeral directing was a job mostly held by men. That has changed, and the shift has been both quiet and dramatic. Today, there are over 19,000 funeral homes and more than 100,000 professionals working in the funeral service industry across the United States, underscoring just how far reaching these changes are. This article looks at how things have changed, why it happened, and what it means for families dealing with loss.
Step into a mortuary science classroom today, and you will likely find women filling most of the seats. Just two decades ago, this scene would have been unthinkable, and half a century ago, nearly impossible. Funeral directing was once a tradition handed down from father to son, with women rarely seen beyond the front office.
That has changed. Today, women make up about 60 percent or more of mortuary science graduates in the United States. This shift is slowly changing a profession that affects every family, regardless of background, beliefs, or situation. [1]
But the story goes far beyond statistics. As women step into funeral service, they are reshaping its very heart, changing the face of the profession, the way grief is supported, and what families seek when saying goodbye.
For example, some female funeral directors now build follow up counseling into their services, calling families in the weeks after a loss to check in and share grief support resources. Others have introduced more personalized arrangement meetings, inviting families to bring personal objects, photos, and memories of the deceased, which helps open deeper conversations and build trust.
Many have changed the traditional, formal atmosphere of funeral homes to be warmer and more welcoming for families who are grieving.
Importantly, many of these innovations are practical steps that can be replicated by other professionals, regardless of gender or experience level.
Simple adjustments like adding a post service follow up call, sending a handwritten note, or inviting families to share personal mementos require little extra investment but can make a significant difference in the support families feel. Updating the arrangement space with softer lighting or more informal seating is another replicable idea.
These approachable practices not only enhance the family's experience but can also help funeral professionals build stronger relationships and trust with the communities they serve. All of this unfolds as the deathcare industry itself faces its greatest transformation in a generation.
| 60%of mortuary science graduates in the U.S. are now women [1] | 27%of funeral home owners are women, up from under 10% in 1990 [2] | | | |
A Profession Built Around Men
For most of the 20th century, funeral directing was seen as a trade, not a profession, and like many trades at the time, it was centered around men. According to the National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association, Inc., funeral homes in the United States have historically been family run businesses that were often handed down through generations, with professional leadership and industry organizations traditionally dominated by men. Women who worked in funeral homes were usually in administrative jobs, such as answering phones, keeping records, or managing flowers, but not directing services or embalming. [2]
The gender barrier was not simply cultural. Research by Sarah Donley shows that funeral directing has historically been a male dominated occupation, with women only more recently entering the field in greater numbers. [3]
So, while funeral service offered comfort to families in their darkest hours, it remained largely hidden from women as a career path.
The Shift: How It Happened
The tide began to turn in the 1980s, gathering momentum through the 1990s and 2000s. A mix of cultural, educational, and social forces fueled this shift.
Mortuary Science Programs Opened Up
As mortuary science programs became more professional and moved into accredited colleges and universities, they attracted a different group of applicants. Women who might not have considered apprenticing at a family funeral home began enrolling in two and four year programs. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, women made up 40 percent of mortuary science students nationwide in 2007, and by 2019 that number had risen to 72 percent. [1]
The Death Positive Movement Created New Entry Points
The death positive movement, a cultural shift, began to gain attention in the early 2010s. It pushed back against the American habit of making death so medical and professional that families were left out of the process. Supporters wanted more openness about death, more options for families, and a more personal approach to end of life care.
Women were key in shaping this movement. Caitlin Doughty, a mortician and author, started the Order of the Good Death in 2011 and reached a large audience through her YouTube channel, Ask a Mortician, which has tens of millions of views. Her books Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, From Here to Eternity, and Will My Cat Eat My Face brought a direct and often humorous take on death to a wide audience. She became the most well known funeral professional in America, and she is a woman. [4]
This visibility mattered. It signaled to a new generation of women that they, too, had a place in funeral service.
While there are anecdotal reports about families requesting female funeral directors, a national survey of funeral professionals published in 2021 does not provide specific data on families' preferences for female funeral directors in cases of miscarriage or infant loss. Families from certain religious or cultural backgrounds may choose a woman for practical or comfort reasons. Some families also say they feel more comfortable having emotional conversations with a woman. [5]
Funeral homes began hearing families request female directors by name. This created not just a cultural incentive, but a business case for hiring and promoting women. In recent years, funeral homes that have increased female representation among their directors have seen higher client satisfaction scores and more frequent word of mouth referrals from families. For example, according to a 2022 survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, funeral homes with at least 40 percent female directors reported client satisfaction ratings of 94 percent, compared to an industry average of 89 percent. Additionally, these funeral homes noted a 20 percent increase in family referrals over the previous three years. According to a study by Richard A. Kalish and Helene Goldberg, most people reported satisfaction with funeral home practices, while a smaller proportion reported negative experiences. As a result, many funeral home owners now view the presence of women on staff not only as a reflection of community values but as a driver of business growth.
Where Women Lead in Funeral Service Today
Women in Funeral Service (WIFS)
Women in Funeral Service (WIFS) is a thriving professional network for women across the deathcare industry. From new embalmers to seasoned funeral home owners, members find mentorship, advocacy, and a sense of belonging. Its rapid growth reflects both the surge of women entering the field and the hunger for a community tailored to their unique journeys.
The NFDA Women's Program
The National Funeral Directors Association started a formal Women's Program to support women in the profession. It includes leadership development, a special conference track, and research on the challenges women face in funeral service, such as pay equity, advancement, and work life balance in roles with demanding, irregular hours. [3]
Social Media and the Mortician Influencer
Alongside Caitlin Doughty, many other women in funeral service have built large social media followings on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. They talk openly and often with humor about embalming, cremation, grief, and death. Accounts like She Mortician and others have attracted millions of followers who had never engaged with deathcare content before. This visibility is bringing new people into the field and teaching the public what funeral service really involves. [4]Lead
Studies on gender in service roles reveal that women often bring distinct communication styles and approaches to client care. In funeral service, where grief can leave families at a loss for words, these differences can be transformative.
According to Allison Scott Pruitt's research, expectations shaped by gender essentialism can influence how female funeral directors perform emotional labor, potentially leading families to feel more comfortable asking questions and sharing personal details during arrangement conferences. It is hard to say if this is due to communication style, family comfort, or both, but the pattern is common enough to be widely discussed in the profession. [5]
Greater Emphasis on Grief Support
Many female funeral directors say they focus more on grief resources, follow up calls after services, and connecting families to bereavement support. According to Aftercare.com, some funeral homes have introduced aftercare programs that include sending personalized cards and surveys to families throughout the first year after a loss, services that were not commonly part of traditional funeral home practice. [5]
Different Approaches to Presentation and Atmosphere
Several women who own funeral homes have discussed in industry publications changing their spaces to feel less formal and less institutional. They use softer lighting, arrange seating so families can gather rather than sit in rows, and create display areas where families can bring photos and meaningful objects. These changes have become more common as more women take on leadership roles. [2]
The Challenges Women Still Face
The journey toward gender balance in funeral service is underway, but far from complete. Women remain underrepresented as owners and leaders, facing hurdles unique to this demanding profession.
To help address these challenges, industry leaders and funeral homes can take several practical steps to support women's advancement: establishing formal mentorship programs to connect newcomers with experienced professionals, offering flexible scheduling to help balance work and family responsibilities, and providing targeted leadership training focused on the unique demands of funeral service.
For example, the National Funeral Directors Association's Women's Program includes a formal mentorship initiative that pairs early career women with established professionals to support leadership development. Similarly, Thompson & Sons Funeral Home in Ohio has implemented a peer mentorship program that has doubled the number of women in leadership roles over the past 5 years.
Supporting professional networks for women and addressing pay equity and promotion pathways are also important measures. Taken together, these efforts can help more women not only enter the field but thrive as leaders and owners.
The Irregular Hours Problem
Funeral directing is not a regular 9 to 5 job. Deaths can happen at any time, families may call in the middle of the night, and services often take place on weekends or holidays.
This schedule is hard for anyone with caregiving duties, and it affects women more in a society where childcare and elder care are still mostly their responsibility. Several female funeral directors have spoken about having to choose between advancing their careers and family needs, in ways that men in the field often do not face.
According to Zippia data, women now make up over 60 percent of funeral arrangers in the United States. However, access to the capital needed to buy or start a funeral home remains a significant challenge for many women. Funeral homes require significant capital, and the same financing gaps that affect women owned businesses in general also apply here. [2]
Physical Labor Assumptions
Embalming and handling human remains is physically demanding work. Some funeral homes and some families have long assumed that women are less suited for these tasks. Female funeral directors and embalmers say they have faced this belief and have had to prove their skills in ways that men in the field usually do not. [6]
Why This Matters Beyond the Industry
The changes in funeral service reflect something bigger: how Americans are changing their views on death, grief, and the people they trust to help them through these experiences.
The deathcare industry is truly at a turning point. Cremation is now more common than burial. Direct cremation, which is simple, low cost, and often arranged without visiting a funeral home, is the fastest growing choice. Families are more likely to research their options, compare providers, and ask questions than in the past. The old way of simply trusting the funeral director to handle everything is being replaced by a more collaborative approach.
Women joining and leading funeral services are both a result of this change and a force behind it. They bring new questions, expectations, and ways of working to a profession that has stayed the same for a long time. Families, especially younger ones, are noticing.
For Obitley, this matters directly. The B2B directory is designed to feature the full range of end of life professionals, with a special focus on supporting and highlighting women led funeral homes, death doulas, grief counselors, and many others who are changing what support around death looks like. According to FuneralVision.com, organizations like Funeral Women Lead are working to increase the visibility and impact of women led businesses and service providers by offering mentoring, coaching, education, and community support to professionals and families, helping ensure these leaders are represented as the funeral profession evolves.
If you are a funeral professional, business owner, or part of a support organization, consider joining the Obitley directory to connect with others in the industry and increase your visibility. You are also invited to contribute your insights, list your business, or share your story to help build a stronger network of changemakers in funeral service. By participating in Obitley or similar networks, you not only reach more families in need but also help shape the future of end of life care.
| Are there more women or men in funeral service today? Women now make up an estimated 60 percent or more of mortuary science graduates, meaning the incoming generation of licensed funeral directors skews female. However, the active licensed workforce and funeral home ownership still skew male, reflecting the demographics of earlier generations. The profession is in the middle of a generational transition. | | |
| Is embalming physically demanding? Can women do it? Yes, embalming involves physical work, and yes, women do it. Female embalmers and funeral directors work across the country in all types of funeral homes. Physical demands are real but manageable with training and proper equipment the same as in many other healthcare and trade professions. | | |
| What is Women in Funeral Service (WIFS)? Women in Funeral Service is a professional organization that provides networking, mentorship, education, and advocacy for women working in the deathcare industry at all levels from newly licensed practitioners to funeral home owners. It operates independently of the NFDA and focuses specifically on issues relevant to women in the profession. | | |
| Who is Caitlin Doughty? Caitlin Doughty is a licensed mortician, author, and founder of the Order of the Good Death. Her YouTube channel, Ask a Mortician, has millions of subscribers and has played a significant role in making deathcare accessible and understandable to general audiences. Her books include Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (2014), From Here to Eternity (2017), and Will My Cat Eat My Face? (2019). She is widely credited with helping drive the death positive movement. | | |
| What is the death positive movement? The death positive movement is a cultural push toward greater openness, education, and acceptance around death and dying. It encourages families to make intentional end of life decisions, challenges the medicalization and over professionalization of death, and advocates for more diverse disposition options. Women have been particularly prominent in leading and articulating this movement. | | |
Sources
[1] American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE). 'Annual Report on Mortuary Science Enrollment.' abfse.org
[2] National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA). 'NFDA Cremation and Burial Report 2024.' nfda.org
[3] National Funeral Directors Association. 'NFDA Women's Program.' nfda.org/membership/women
[4] Doughty, Caitlin. 'Order of the Good Death.' orderofthegooddeath.com; 'Ask a Mortician.' YouTube, youtube.com/@AskAMortician
[5] Funeral Service Insider. 'Gender and the Arrangement Conference: What Research Suggests.' Industry publications, 2022 2024.
[6] Women in Funeral Service (WIFS). 'About WIFS.' womeninfuneralservice.com
Published on Obitley Voices|www.obitley.com/voices