Time for a shake up of gender stereotypes
Many children still believe ‘nurses are always women’, while pilots, engineers and even bosses are seen as men’s jobs by kids as young as five. LAUREN TAYLOR speaks to experts about how to tackle it
CHILDREN are still heavily influenced by gender stereotypes when it comes to the world of work – and what is considered a ‘man’s job’, compared to a woman’s, it turns out.
New research by ad agency CPB London found that 45% of five to 11-year-olds believe nurses are always women – and 22% think doctors are likely to be men. While 60% think being a plumber or electrician is a man’s job – and almost half of the boys and girls surveyed said that men make better engineers.
Of the 1,000 kids polled, 42% thought pilots were always men and 32% said a boss was more likely to be a man. While 39% thought mums should look after babies and do all the housework while dads should go to work.
So with gender bias already present at such a young age, how can parents help to minimise its impact – and show children that their gender doesn’t have to determine their future career opportunities?
Where do these messages come from?
“Children really are like sponges – they pay attention to all of these messages around them,” says Dr Amanda Gummer, child psychologist and founder of The Good Play Guide (goodplayguide.com).
From TV, film, media, apps and toys to (often unintentional) messages from real life role models like teachers and family members, kids are taking in subliminal signs all the time.
“It is not clear who and what defines the parameters of ‘men’s’ and ‘women’s’ jobs, apart from being tools deployed to reproduce dominant forms of masculinity and femininity,” says Professor Roberta Guerrina, a sociologist and director of the Gender Research Centre at the University of Bristol.
They are simply tools that normalise “social and economic hierarches”, she says.
What’s the damage?
Gender stereotypes are based on assumptions about roles in society, based on the binary understanding of gender that puts men and women into distinct, separate boxes, pitting economic production and social reproduction against each other, Prof Guerrina explains.
“What the last two years of Covid-19 should have taught us is that these two spheres of life are inextricably linked, and that ‘women’s jobs’ like care work remain largely under-valued both in social and economic terms.
“Gender stereotypes are widely deployed to justify social, political and economic inequalities,” she says. The gender pay gap is a good example – often partly blamed on women seeking more caring, nurturing roles. And it certainly affects what children believe about their own future too.
“If a girl grows up believing that being an electrician is a man’s job, perhaps she’ll show less interest in science, because there is no clear career path in her eyes,” says Dr Gummer.
“Similarly, a boy who loves taking care of people may not pursue a career in nursing because he doesn’t want to be seen to be ‘girly’. But we need electricians and nurses of different genders because every individual has something new to bring to that role.”
What are parents’ roles in this?
The problem is parents have usually been exposed to similar – or worse – biases growing up and have often been socialised to accept gender stereotypes as ‘normal’.
“It’s likely these have influenced our attitudes a little,” says Dr Gummer, and passing them onto our children probably isn’t deliberate.
“Taking a step back and thinking about what your values are can really help you get a better picture of what messages you might be sending your children.”
Prof Guerrina says the single biggest thing we can do as parents to challenge gender stereotypes is to think about gender divisions of labour at home.
“Modelling inclusion through our everyday interactions is perhaps one of the most important things we can do to challenge gender stereo
types. This includes being conscious of who speaks, who is given authority, and who is expected to do the caring.”
But Dr Gummer adds it’s important to remember that your child might have stereotypical interests too – and that’s OK. “If your daughter is interested in a career in nursing, that’s fine too, you don’t have to push her towards becoming a plumber!”
The problem with fictional characters
It’s understandable to plonk your child down in front of the telly and let them watch whatever keeps them quiet (and still) for half an hour, but many shows and cartoons still promote problematic messages about gender – even for babies and toddlers.
A 2021 University of Bristol study on the ‘annihilation of female characters in primary school literature’ (focussing on reception age) found gender stereotypes remain prevalent in the way characters are written into stories and children are ‘strongly impacted’ by male centricity of protagonists and portrayal of gender behaviours.
“Female characters are not only less visible and present, they also speak less and therefore occupy less space in the imagination of children,” says Prof Guerrina.
Surround kids with varied role models
Children learn a lot through play, so this is a good way for them to learn and understand, says Dr Gummer. “Look for TV shows that positively represent people from different backgrounds, including different genders, who have a range of careers. You can also use these to start a conversation with your child about what they might like to be when they grow up.
“The children’s TV show Bluey is a good example, as the dad often stays home to look after the children while mum goes to work. I can also recommend the Plane Characters books, app, and TV show featuring Pilot Ollie and Pilot Polly, as well as a diverse range of characters.”
Strong female protagonists can be found in Netflix shows Ridley Jones (aimed at under-sixes and featuring a non-binary character) and Hilda (an 11-year-old girl who befriends dangerous monsters), while BBC’s Go Jetters features a female pilot.
Now’s Steven Universe features a caring, sensitive boy protagonist who is open about his emotions, while Disney+ show Recess follows a group of primary school kids and their hero teacher Miss Grotke is known for her anti-imperialist and anti-sexist messages, to name a few.
Dr Gummer adds: “If you have an older child, you could be more direct and specifically talk to them about stereotypes, to encourage them to think about this. Suggest examples of people you know who work in non-stereotypical roles and see if your child can think of any for themselves.”