Discrimination against male potential OT's?

Hi folks,

I've been having a damn hard time finding an OT to job shadow. I've called SO many places and talked to a lot of OTs over the phone and in-person to get job shadowing oppty's. All of them have been women. Even the academic OT departments that I have contacted have not been very receptive to my inquiries. As an experiment, to verify my thoughts, my wife emailed and called these places to ask similar questions that I have been trying to get fielded. They all returned her calls or emails. I just find this very bizarre, and it has turned me off from the field.

Has any other male OT's experienced any sort of discrimination in the field? I've been told that people are very wary of men being around children--it's sad that our society has evolved to this. So, I'm not going into pediatrics. I would love to work in geriatrics and hand therapy. I have a keen interest in focal dystonias.

I would love to hear from people that might shed some light on this.

Volunteer at a VA hospital. They have a formal volunteering program in place.