Is this a statement that we still live by in todays world? Should we be empowering our children to think differently? Why can't a boy be a Nanny and a girl a Plumber?
After researching several employment statistics, the following information has been discovered;
In 2015 99% of workers in construction were male leaving only 1% for female jobs (The Guardian)
Only 8% of women progress into level 4 or above qualifications in STEM subjects (WISE Campaign)
22% of STEM workforce are women (WISE Campaign)
In 2017 11% of engineering workforce is women (WISE Campaign)
Of the 567 people who have been to space only 52 have been women (NASA)
Only around 9% of nurses are male, whereas there is more of an equal split in doctor roles of 47% women 53% men (NHS)
12% of primary school teachers are male (Department for Education)
6% of pilots in commercial aviation are women (Aviation Association)
Just 16% of the armed forces fighting on front line are female (Army Technology)
These statistics certainly highlight that there is definitely a gender divide within many employment sectors. Could this be due to predisposed stereotypes of the roles within these sectors which are instilled in children from an early age?
From birth children are taught to think stereotypically as a way of helping their brains recognise and categorise different groups helping them make sense of the world. Stereotypical thinking is widely accepted in many ways, however when it hinders our development in later life this should be questioned. Would children strive to achieve more if there were not stereotypical ideals thrust upon them to live up or down to?
Gender stereotypes can be categorised into four kinds, here are some examples;
Personality
Women are emotional, nurturing, polite
Men are self-confident, aggressive, brave
Domestic
Women look after the home, cook and take care of children
Men go to work, look after finances, perform any repairs to the home
Occupations
Women are nurses and teachers
Men are doctors and engineers
Physical appearance
Women are expected to be pretty and thin and graceful, wear dresses and make-up
Men are expected to be handsome and muscular, wear trousers and have tidy hairstyles.
On first appearance these ideals may seem to be something from the 1950's, however without us knowing these are the stereotypes we are embedding in our society today.
The main focus of the 'Be Anything Do Anything" project is stereotypes within occupations. A quick test will be performed as an activity during the classroom sessions which will involve a series of job titles, hobbies and personality traits. The participants will be asked to quickly associate the word with male or female (or both) using the first image that comes into their head.
Have a go for yourself, but don't think too hard or long about the answers, remember it's the first image that comes into your head;
ARTIST
ASTRONAUT
BUILDER
CHEF
CLEANER
DANCER
DENTIST
DOCTOR
FARMER
FASHION DESIGNER
FIRE FIGHTER
GARDENER
HAIRDRESSER
LAWYER
LOOKS AFTER BABY
MECHANIC
NURSE
PLUMBER
POLICE OFFICER
RECEPTIONIST
SCIENTIST
SOLDIER
TEACHER
It is assumed that due to many years of conditioning the majority of people's answers will provide stereotypical results.
By encouraging children to respect all people no matter of their gender, and also by instilling the ethos of hard-work and giving everything a try boundaries or what they could achieve will be lifted and will hopefully help to eventually breakdown stereotype barriers.
It is hoped that through the 'Be Anything Do Anything' project, the opinions of children under the age of 11 will provide an overview as to whether this sort of thinking will continue or if it is likely to phase out over generations, therefore breaking the stereotypes down. Will the girls involved aspire to be astronauts or builders and the boys nurses or hairdressers? Please check out my future blogs on the project outcomes for my conclusions.
Further reading;
Army Technology (2018) Women in the Army. Available at: https://www.army-technology.com/uncategorised/women-in-the-army/ (accessed 10 March 2019)
Bates, L. (2015) ‘Young children must be protected from ingrained gender stereotypes’. The Guardian, 23 February. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/feb/23/sexist-assumptions-young-children-gender-stereotypes (accessed 10 March 2019)
British Engines (2018) 10 Facts Women UK Engineering Jobs. Available at: https://www.britishengines.co.uk/blog/10-facts-women-uk-engineering-jobs/ (accessed 09 March 2019)
Gender in Leadership (2014) Gender vs Leadership. Available at: http://genderinleadership.blogspot.com/ (accessed 10 March 2019)
Lyndon, N. (2015) ‘Why aren't we doing more to encourage men to be primary school teachers?’ The Telegraph, 15 June. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11668169/Why-arent-we-doing-more-to-encourage-men-to-be-primary-school-teachers.html (accessed 10 March 2019)
Miller, C (2017) ‘Why Men Don’t Want the Jobs Done Mostly by Women’ New York Times, 04 January https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/04/upshot/why-men-dont-want-the-jobs-done-mostly-by-women.html (accessed 08 March 2019)
NASA (2018) Women. Available at: https://history.nasa.gov/women.html (accessed 08 March 2019)
NHS (2018) Narrowing of NHS Gender Divide. Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/narrowing-of-nhs-gender-divide-but-men-still-the-majority-in-senior-roles (accessed 09 March 2019)
Nurse Uncut (2018) Overcoming Stigma: Proud to be a Male Nurse; 20 April. Available at: https://www.nurseuncut.com.au/overcoming-stigma-proud-to-be-a-male-nurse/ (accessed 08 March 2019)
Pew Research Center (2018) ‘The share of women in life and physical sciences has gone up but it has gone down for computer jobs since 1990’. Pew Research Center, 09 January. Available at: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/01/09/women-and-men-in-stem-often-at-odds-over-workplace-equity/ps_2018-01-09_stem_0-09/ (accessed 09 March 2019)
Planned Parenthood (2018) What are gender roles and stereotypes? Available at: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sexual-orientation-gender/gender-gender-identity/what-are-gender-roles-and-stereotypes (accessed 08 March 2019)
Reddit (2018) More women than men in personal care, cleaning and teaching professions in the EU. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/82mq98/more_women_than_men_in_personal_care_cleaning_and/ (accessed 08 March 2019)
Stem Women (2018) Women in STEM Statistics. Available at: https://www.stemwomen.co.uk/blog/2018/03/useful-statistics-women-in-stem (accessed 08 March 2019)
Total Jobs (2018) Stem Jobs for the Girls. Available at: https://www.totaljobs.com/insidejob/stem-jobs-for-the-girls-stereotypes/ (accessed 08 March 2019)
WES (2018) Statistics. Available at: https://www.wes.org.uk/content/wesstatistics (accessed 08 March 2019)
Williams, M (2015) ‘Where are all the women? Why 99% of construction site workers are male’. The Guardian, 15 May. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/2015/may/19/where-are-all-the-women-why-99-of-construction-site-workers-are-male (accessed 10 March 2019)
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