Running Head: THE IMPACT OF GENDER STEREOTYPES

The Impact of Gender Stereotypes

Olivia Parvu

South Lyon High School

December 23, 2022

THE IMPACT OF GENDER STEREOTYPES 2

Abstract

This paper's main focus is to show awareness about the negative effects of gender stereotypes

that start to occur at young ages. Since young children, we are put into different categories based

on gender. The children are expected to follow the categories based on their genders categories.

If you do not then follow the basic stereotypes you are weird and you broke the norm. While I

did my research, I chose to focus my efforts towards the ways stereotypes can affect children

growing up and starting at a young age: in the classroom, in sports, in the workplace, and

throughout adulthood. From the credible sources that I found during my research, I found real

studies and data that proves that gender stereotypes have a negative affect on us. When girls and

boys are held at the same standards as each other they are proven to have a better outcome.

Being told from a young age that children can do anything you want when you are older was

proven that children are more likely to have a different career when they are older then the

standard jobs they would have based on their gender. In addition my research shows the effects

that gender stereotypes impact us.

WC: 211

Key words: negative effects of gender stereotypes starting at young ages

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The Impact of Gender Stereotypes

In today's society, everywhere we look there are many different gender stereotypes not

only in school, but as well as in sports, in households, and in the workplace. With gender

stereotypes, there is almost an expectation to follow these stereotypes as if they are almost like

categories based on different genders. Children recognize gender stereotypes at very young ages

and with that being said it may affect their development in the future. Children are put under an

overwhelming amount of pressure to follow the stereotypes that go along with their gender. And

if they do not follow the stereotypes they may be projected as the “weird kid”. Ellen E.

Kneeskern and Patrita A. Reeder (2020), who wrote “Examining the impact of of fiction on

children’s gender stereotypes'', noted an important point: “As children age, they begin to expect

each gender to perform in certain ways and form associations between the types of activities and

objects usually associated with men and women” (para. 5). With that being said, children who

grow up being reminded that their gender has a different role on how children should act may

affect the way that they choose their career in the future, due to the fact that they learned these

stereotypes at such a young age. Although our society is constantly changing, gender stereotypes

remain the same. They are everywhere and have been proven to negatively affect children

starting at young ages.

Gender stereotypes are formed at very young ages and can greatly impact one’s views on

gender roles. Children are able to identify gender stereotypes at very young ages; Ellen E.

Kneeskern and Patrica A. Reeder (2022), who authored “Examining the impact of fiction

literature on children's gender stereotypes”, stated an important point: “Knowledge of gender

stereotypes develops early in childhood, and children as young as two years of age are aware of

culturally-defined gender roles (Wilbourn and Kee 2010)” (para. 3). Stereotypes are formed by

young children as young as two years old and can develop overtime. Children are aware of the
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roles that associate with their gender and become aware of what roles their gender should play.

These stereotypes are socially constructed and tend to change but are easy to identify. Kids

growing up believe that these stereotypes must be true and they have to follow them.

Furthermore, children tend to form more opinions on their gender over time. In Rafferty’s (2022)

study about the impact of gender stereotypes, he states, “Still, when a child's interests and

abilities are different from what society expects, they may be subjected to discrimination and

bullying” (para.14). Any kid growing up wants acceptance from their peers so that they are not

known as the “weird kid”. With the gender roles that kids are expected to follow, kids may think

that they can not be different from the way their gender is supposed to be. After reflecting on

these examples it becomes clear that kids can recognize stereotypes for their own genders.

As children grow throughout society, they beg for acceptance and being liked by their

peers; because of that children may think they cannot do certain things that their gender isn't

supposed to do. Breaking the norm of the expectations that children are set at might affect their

real identity. Ellen E. Kneeskern and Patrica A. Reeder (2022), who wrote “Examining the

impact of fiction literature on children’s gender stereotypes”, noted an important point: “A child

with rigid ideas about gender roles might think that if a boy puts on a dress, he automatically

becomes a girl, because of the stereotype that girls wear dresses and boys do not” (para. 4). The

idea of any person breaking the norm automatically makes the rest of society assume that that

person is portrayed as “weird”. That is caused by society, because older generations already have

stereotypes formed so then the younger generations are expected to follow the same stereotypes

even though it's a different day and age. This idea was proven by Nayirah Muhammad (2018)

who wrote an article called “Theyby Babies” and states, “Society expects girls to be girlie, nice,

and pretty; and boys to be manly, rough, and outgoing” (para. 13). Society has set expectations of
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many different ways that girls are supposed to act and look in public. Since society already has

strong gender expectations formed, children growing up may think that they have to follow those

expectations. Kids could be afraid to express themselves differently from their stereotypes

because society will make them feel like that’s wrong.

Not only do children face gender stereotypes in school, but children also face them in

school as well and they are constantly reminded of them. Children are always faced with

stereotypes in school like girls are smart and boys are the class clowns. According to American

University professor of Emeritus program David Sadker and director of Content and Curriculum

at the Anita Borg Institution Melissa Koch (2016),

Girls receive higher grades and have fewer disciplinary problems. They are more likely to

become valedictorians and go on to college, but less likely to enter STEM careers. Boys,

on the other hand, often struggle in a traditional school culture. They are more frequently

class clowns or troublemakers; they get worse grades and are more likely to drop

out—but they do surpass girls in science, math, and sports. (para. 1)

These stereotypes are formed in the classroom and have been in the classroom since the

beginning of time. With the constant reminder of the idea that girls have to get good grades and

they are not at the same skill level in STEM subjects as boys can affect future choices. These

stereotypes may limit children's development, according to “Gender Identity Development in

Children” (2022) : “Over time, society has recognized that stereotypes of "masculine" and

"feminine" activities and behaviors are inaccurate and limiting to a child's development” (para.

11). The stereotypes that lead to children growing up stating that boys have to be muscular limits

their development and may make them think that they can't do something when they are older

when they actually can.

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Students who are reminded that men are better at math and science than girls, this may

lead to females steering away from the idea of the technology field as a career. That idea can

scare girls and make them think that they are not good enough to go into the science field or a

field that has to do with science and math, this piece of evidence made it quite clear: “Science,

math, and technology are ripe fields for stereotype threat for women (Nix, Perez-Felkner, and

Thomas, 2015)” (Koch & Sadker, 2016, para. 4). When females are reminded that men are better

in the technology fields, girls start to think that the technology field is only for men. Those

stereotypes are formed throughout society and can affect the way that females choose careers due

to the fear of not fitting in and they have to follow their gender stereotypes: “The point is that all

children tend to develop a clearer view of themselves and their gender over time” (Rafferty,

2022, para. 4). Due to the way that society has formed these ideas that women cannot be in the

technology fields, girls may think that they won't be accepted because they are doing a guy's job

and they won’t fit in. Figure 1 is a study done by students at Yale University, they found that in

grades 3rd through 7th grade gender stereotypes affected childrens ideas that girls aren't

supposed to do computer science and boys are more favored to.

Once kids are out of school, the gender stereotypes do not stop there. Adults face gender

bias stereotypes in the workplace as well. The Literary Manager at Center Theater Group and a

member of the Kilroys, Joy Meads (2015), and the author of “What Lies Beneath The surface”

stated an import fact: “Men tend to be hired on the bias of potential and women on proven

performance” (para. 13). The way women are discriminated against in the workplace needs to

change. In the book Blink, who was authored by Malcolm Gladwell’s (2007), there was a study

with a girl named Abbie Conant and how her gender had a big effect on her audition and the way

the orchestra changed their auditions protocols:

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Women, it was believed, simply could not play like men. They didn't have the strength,

the attitude, or the resilience for certain kinds of pieces. Their lips were different. Their

lungs were less powerful. Their hands were smaller. That did not seem like a prejudice. It

seemed like a fact, because when conductors and music directors and maestros held

auditions, the men always seemed to sound better than women. No one paid much

attention to how auditions were held… In some places, rules were put in place forbidding

the judges from speaking among themselves during auditions, so that one person’s

opinion would not cloud the view of another. Musicians were identified not by name but

by number. Screens were erected the committee and the auditioner, and if the person

auditioning cleared his or her throat or made any kind of identifiable sound — of they

were wearing heels, for example, and stepped on a part of the floor that wasn;t carpeted

— they were ushered out and given a new number. And as these new rules were put in

place around the country, an extraordinary thing happened: orchestras began to hire

women. (p. 249-250)

This study shows that when gender isn't a factor male and females have the same opportunities

as each other. Gladwell’s quote proves what Meads had stated about how women have to be

hired based on their proven ability not based off of their potential. Another important fact that

was proven by Gladwell’s quote is how your unconscious bias can affect the way you view

genders differently.

Due to the fact that children are faced with stereotypes at young ages, this can lead to

kids choosing a different career when they are older because they were told growing up how

their gender is supposed to act. As a result, companies are affected due to the lack of gender

balance. From Melissae Fellet (2013) study, she noted an important fact:
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Organizations with limited diversity are weaker as a result. A lack of gender balance has

been found to affect everything from the quality of professional practice to the

productivity of a team. One recent survey of senior life sciences executives in the UK

found that women leaders in the boardroom bring empathy, intuition and communication

skills that men do not. (para. 4)

It was proven that organizations that don't have equal

diversity have weaker results in the workplace. This

could be caused because of the fact that young

women may choose a different career because

society has taught them that women can’t do

technology or science jobs and that those are men’s

jobs. In Figure 1 the PricewaterhouseCoopers

interviewed 2,000 British high school students about

if they're going to major in STEM when they are

going to college and these were the results. Figure 1 demonstrated the difference in a research

studying the difference between female and male study STEM in highschool and then throughout

college and and choosing their career. The results showed that the female category significantly

decreased more than the male category as well as starting at a much lower percentage than the

male category. This is important because teens in high school learned at a young age that girls

aren't supposed to go into the STEM field because of the stereotypes that are formed at young

ages.

Constant reminders from society about the ways one's gender is supposed to act, are

negatively impacting young children while growing up. Gender stereotypes are being forced on
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children in school, in sports, and throughout their lifetime. Not only children are affected by

gender stereotypes. Although stereotypes are noticed by young children as young as 2 years old.

But adults are also affected by gender stereotypes and may even affect the way adults choose

their careers. Next time you see someone being faced with being negative gender stereotypes

remember you can do whatever you put your mind to.

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References

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Gladwell, M. (2007). Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Little, Brown.

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children’s gender stereotypes. Current Psychology, 41(3), 1472–1485.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00686-4

Meads, J. (2015). What Lies beneath the Surface. American Theatre, 32(8), 48–50.

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Rafferty, J. (2022, May 11). Gender Identity Development in Children. HealthyChildren.org.

Retrieved December 2, 2022, from

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