My research focuses on how pre-school children reinforce gender stereotypes and norms through their play with others. But this raises the question – what is the problem with gender stereotypes?

I have just finished reading Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (the book that the film was based on). Whilst the story told within this book is about the important role that these women played in ensuring that not only did man land on the moon, and more importantly that they were able to return to earth; it also highlights the struggles that the women had to be taken seriously, in an age where there was strong gender, and racial, stereotypes that limited their employment.  At one point in the book, Shetterly explains that a woman would only be considered for a manager’s role in a department that was all women, as men would not accept being managed by a woman.

Society, in general, has moved on a long way from the gender beliefs of the 1950s and 1960s, especially in terms of employment. However, research undertaken by the OECD in 2019 with young people showed that their career aspirations are still very gendered with boys more likely to choose a career in a STEM occupation than girls, and girls being more likely to choose a career in a caring role than boys.  Taking a look at employment data (House of Commons Library, 2022) and it is clear that women are more likely to be employed in part-time or temporary work and low paid occupations than men are.

Whilst it can be argued that every individual has the right to choose the career path that makes them happy, the research mentioned above, suggests that our knowledge of gender stereotypes may influence our aspirations.

So, imagine you are a 3-year-old child, you have just started pre-school where you are surrounded by more children your own age than you have ever seen in one place before.  You start trying to identify where you fit in with this group of children, who are you going to play with, who might be your friend? In other words, you are trying to work out your place in the world.  By 3 years old you probably already know whether you are a girl or boy, even if you don’t truly understand what that means, because your mum and dad have told you what a “good boy” or “good girl” you are in the past. So, this identification, boy or girl, becomes significant to you and when you first meet all these other children you look for other children who share this characteristic.  You are becoming aware of gender and this is when pre-school children really start to play in gender-segregated groups.

Once you have become part of a group “the girls” or “the boys”, you discover more about what it means to be a member of the group from the others. You may notice that all the other girls wear skirts or dresses to pre-school so you start telling your mum that you like dresses, or you may notice that the boys all play with cars so you change what you play with.  These are examples represent just two of the many gender stereotypes that children hold.

Research into the gendering of the pre-school environment shows that the construction area is often a no-go zone for girls. So many aspects of shape and space, along with problem-solving skills are developed in this area, which puts girls at a disadvantage if they do not feel comfortable playing with these resources.  Looking at the research again and we can see that girls are more likely to participate in mark-making activities than boys. These activities support children’s fine motor development as well as supporting children’s early literacy development. By avoiding these activities, boys may miss out on these vital early skills.

Another gender stereotype that has been shown to have a long-term negative impact is the idea that “big boys don’t cry”. Children, boys especially, are often told that boys don’t cry or that only babies cry. These stereotypes limit boys’ ability to express their emotions and discuss how they are feeling.  In later life, this can be linked to an increase in mental health issues for men. Research by the Mental Health Foundation (2016) shows that whilst men are less likely to speak to a professional about their mental wellbeing and thereby diagnosed with mental health issues, they are three times more likely to die by suicide, become dependent on alcohol or drugs or end up incarcerated.

These few examples demonstrate that gender stereotypes can have long term negative impacts on people’s mental health, career aspirations, employment prospects and financial security. This doesn’t even start to consider the impact on an individual's self-esteem or sense of identity when they feel that they don’t fit into the gender binary for one reason or another.

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References

House of Commons Library briefing paper (2022) Women and the UK Economy. Available online: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06838/SN06838.pdf [Accessed 24/03/22]

Mental Health Foundation (2016) Fundamental facts about mental health 2016. London: Mental Health Foundation.

OECD (2019) Envisioning the future of education and jobs. Paris: OECD Publishing. Available online: https://www.oecd.org/education/Envisioning-the-future-of-education-and-jobs.pdf [Accessed 25/01/22]