Gender stereotypes are still pervasive in our culture

It is astonishing that, in 2018, girls still grow up being treated very differently from boys through entrenched stereotyping and unconscious biases. Girls’ subject choices in school are one clear symptom of their unequal experiences. One example is that four times as many boys as girls take physics, a subject seen as having value by universities and employers alike. As a society we have become inured to such disparities in choices and also to the deeper malaise it reveals.

Gendered stereotypes are pervasive in our culture – ingrained by long-standing biases (both conscious and unconscious). They affect all of our expectations and, at an early age, those of our youngsters. Many of the stereotypes relate to different expectations of boys and girls. Why does this matter? First, we are losing talent. We need many more good engineers, scientists and programmers. Second, there is a personal cost for young women as we limit their expectations.


Source : theguardian