GENDER STEREOTYPES

  WHAT IS GENDER GENDER STEREOTYPES ?

  A gender stereotype is a widely held belief or generalisation about the behaviours and 

characteristics attributed to women and men. Females are often portrayed as being 

emotional, caring and in need of protection. Males are often characterised as being 

rational, career driven and strong. These assumptions can be negative (eg women are 

irrational, men are insensitive) or seemingly benign (eg women are nurturing, men are 

leaders). However, all stereotyping can be limiting.

Where do gender stereotypes come from?

Gender stereotypes are complex and originate from local culture and traditions. 

Children learn what constitutes female and male behaviour from their family and 

friends, the media and institutions including schools and religious bodies. Gender 

stereotypes can have an adverse effect on all genders, as young people find 

themselves regularly exposed to messages about how boys and girls should look, 

behave and play. These socially accepted and often unconscious ideas start to form 

in infancy.

What are the negative impacts of gender stereotypes ?

Gender stereotypes shape self-perception, attitudes to relationships and influence 

participation in the world of work. In a school environment, they can affect a young 

person’s classroom experience, academic performance, subject choice and well-being. 

The assumptions we make about boys and girls may be conscious or unconscious and 

can result in students being treated differently or offered different opportunities based 

on their gender.

 

SOME EXAMPELS OF GENDER STEREOTYPES:

Early Years

​

Girls should play with dolls and boys should play with trucks

Boys should be directed to like blue and green; girls toward red and pink

Boys should not wear dresses or other clothes typically associated with "girl's clothes"

During Youth

​Girls are better at reading and boys are better at math

Girls should be well behaved; boys are expected to act out

Girls and are not as interested as boys in STEM subjects;

Boys should engage in sports and refrain from more creative pursuits; 

Boys and men are expected to use violence and aggression to prove their manliness;

A boy that doesn't use violence or aggression is an understandable target for bullying;

Girls should be thin and beautiful to make them appealing to men.

As Adults

​Victims of intimate partner violence are weak because they stay in the relationship

There is something wrong with a woman who doesn’t want children 

Assertive women are unfeminine and are "bossy," "bitches” or “whores”

Women are natural nurturers; men are natural leaders

Women don’t need equal pay because they are supported by their husbands

Women who appear less feminine or reject advances from men are lesbians

Women with children are less devoted to their jobs

Men who spend time with family are less masculine and poor bread winners

In heterosexual couples, women should take time off to care for children or elders

Men who are not aggressive and/or assertive are unmanly and likely gay

Same-sex couples cannot make good parents

A transgender or gender non-confirming person is profoundly wrong

Women are too emotional to undertake certain kinds of work, especially while pregnant

Men are too impersonal and not emotionally apt to take on tasks "better done by women"

HOW TO STOP GENDER STEREOTYPES?

THE SOLUTION LIES IN EDUCATION

The seed of stereotypes is sown in education, and education is where the solution lies. Therefore, as UNESCO states in its Global Education Monitoring Report, the support of governments is crucial. For example, curricula, textbooks and teacher training programmes should be periodically reviewed to ensure that gender stereotypes are not perpetuated and apprenticeship programmes , tutorials, networks or scholarships should be considered to promote and encourage the incorporation of women into STEM fields.

Within schools, the role of teachers becomes essential when it comes to providing quality, gender-neutral education that promotes students' welfare and respect for professional standards. Lina Gálvez, director of the Master's Degree in Gender and Equality at Pablo de Olavide University in Seville and research expert in gender equality, gives some advice for teachers on how to act against inequality inside and outside the classroom:

Be aware of sexism. Question certain stereotypes that we take as normal but which in reality are social constructions.

Deal with the issue of equality without complexes. Ignore third-party criticism or pressure in addressing equality issues.

Join forces for equal education. The more people involved in this type of education, the more effective it will be.

Think laterally. Reinforce children in their preferences regardless of whether or not they correspond to what the stereotype makes us expect.

                                                                                                     THANKYOU!

                                                                                                    -VEDIK CHAPLOT