‘Mighty girl’ effect makes fathers of daughters less sexist

Men not as likely to believe in strict gender roles if they are parents to girls

HAVING a daughter protects men against sexism, a study by the London School of Economics has found.

Men with daughters were significantly less likely to believe in traditional gender roles, such as women staying at home to look after the children while they go to work, researchers said.

The phenomenon, which has been dubbed “the mighty girl effect”, was also found to grow over time.

While fathers of daughters at primary school were 8 per cent less likely to believe that men should be the main breadwinner, by the time children reached secondary school the figure had grown to 11 per cent.

The researchers speculated that through parenting, fathers of daughters may develop a better understanding of the disadvantages faced by women and girls in society, resulting in a significant shift in attitudes.

Dr Joan Costa-font, of the department of health policy at the LSE, said: “The study shows that attitudes, rather than being fixed over time, can change later in life.

“This is a very promising finding that suggests that exposure to others’ circumstances can help shape behaviour.”

The study, published by Oxford Economic Papers, analysed the effects of becoming a parent of a daughter on men and women.

Parents who took part in a survey spanning two decades in the UK, conducted between 1991 and 2012, were assessed on whether they supported the notion of the “traditional male breadwinner”, with the wife as a homemaker.

The authors found strong evidence that having daughters decreased the likelihood of fathers holding traditional attitudes towards gender roles, a trend that became particularly pronounced when daughters reached school age.

However, the effect on the attitude of mothers was not significant, confirming the findings of previous studies that having a daughter affects men and women differently.

The authors also found that parents of school-age daughters were less likely to subscribe to traditional gender divisions of work.

The shift in attitude among men appeared when the daughter reached school age, coinciding with the period in which children experience a stronger social pressure to conform to gender norms, according to the study.

“Through parenting, fathers of daughters may develop a better understanding of women’s and girls’ disadvantages in society, resulting in a significant shift in their attitudes towards gender norms,” the authors said.

The researchers believed mothers were less likely to change their attitudes because they had already been exposed to disadvantage.

Doctoral student Julia Philipp, of the department of social policy and the centre for analysis of social exclusion at the LSE, said: “Traditional attitudes towards gender roles can be a barrier to achieving gender equality inside and outside the workplace, so our evidence that such attitudes can change over time is very encouraging.”

The study concluded that even indirect exposure to disadvantage could lead to a change in people’s attitudes.