Gender stereotypes are promoted by parents and teachers, says Stanford University study

When the researchers at Standford University explicitly asked participants if they thought the sentence 'girls are as good as boys at math' was biased in any way, people rated the statement as unbiased.

Study reveals the stereotype of well meaning statements that most parents and teachers use

The act of stereotyping has been deeply rooted in our veins. No matter how much we understand it and try to avoid it, we end up unconsciously categorizing people according to their interests and likings, based on what we have experienced or known in life.

Adding to this, people don't even stop putting each other in boxes on the basis of their gender. Gender stereotyping is the most common aspect that parents and teachers unknowingly ingrain into the minds of children.

As per the norms of gender stereotyping, females should be interested in a certain few fields which are deemed 'feminine' while males are supposed to be interested only in 'male' things.

This notion of assigning a gender interest to a certain play object or career field is extremely harmful as it tells kids at the time of their development yearsthat they can or cannot do a few things based on their sex.

But when girls and boys enter each other's sphere, that's when they BREAK THE STEREOTYPE!

Categorizing subjects on the basis of a person's sex is already prevalent in our education system. For example, boys are apparently supposed to be good at Maths. Though many girls are now proving this wrong, the popular statement still stands: 'Girls are as good as boys at math.'

Unknowingly, people keep on using these sentences in their conversations but they are unable to realize that these well-meaning statements promote gender stereotypes in the society.

Study for proving these statements as a stereotype

In a recent study by the researchers from Stanford University in the US, it has found out that because of its grammatical structure, the statement implies that being good at math is more common or natural for boys than girls.

The researchers tested the effects of the sentence, as well as variations like swapping 'girls' with 'boys,' on a group of English-speaking adults via their study.

Here's what lead author of the study published in the journal Cognitive Science told PTI:

"Considering that several fields with large gender gaps like computer science and physics value raw talent, statements that imply that boys are naturally more talented could be contributing to women's under-representation," says Eleanor Chestnut.

Girls' skills examined in comparison to boys

The difference between 'girls are as good as boys at math' and 'girls and boys are equally good at math' may not be obvious, but each carries a slightly different meaning.

According to the study, the first statement contains a so-called subject-complement structure, which compares girls to boys. 'Boys' is the complement or a standard against which 'girls,' the subject, is examined.

The second sentence has a subject-subject structure and puts both girls and boys in the same position in the sentence, without comparing the two.

How was the study conducted?

  • Researchers had surveyed 650 English-speaking adults from the US to better understand how people perceive the subtle difference between such statements even if they do not realize it
  • The researchers divided study participants into five conditions, each with 128 people
  • Participants read text with one of four statements: 'girls do just as well as boys at math,' 'boys do just as well as girls at math,' 'girls and boys are equally good at math,' and 'boys and girls are equally good at math'

Result of the study

  • Of those participants who read a text that included 'girls are as good as boys at math,' 71 per cent said boys have more natural math ability
  • However, only 32 per cent of participants said the same after reading a text that contained 'boys are as good as girls at math'

Participants rate statement as 'unbiased' when asked


This shows that even though women are continuing the climb to gain equal footing in STEM subjects, in the corporate world, and science-based careers, the common perception still has a long way to go.

While speaking to India Today Education, Archana Sharma, a clinical psychologist from New Delhi shared meaningful insights about this issue, here's what she said:

'Girls are as good as boys in Maths!' These statements promotes Gender Stereotype according to the study. What do you have to say about this?

This study does prove the existence of the term, 'Gender Stereotype'. This, of course reinforces the same. I think these stereotypes have an impact on both male and female equally.

Stereotypes in schools on the basis of gender when it comes to Maths subject. What effect can it have on the female child?

As, I had mentioned before, that the impact is on both the genders, so when a child experience such stereotype based on the sexes, it gets strongly registered in their minds which can start from choosing one sex over other on the basis of a subject in school and comparing the two of them. This play a major role in shaping the individuality as they grow older. They start judging themselves on these parameters only, which should not be done.

What advice can we give to the parents so that they realize what they are unknowingly promoting?

Parents should start from allowing their children to play games or engage in tasks that are not gender specific, so that their child doesn't become a complement or a subject to be examined on the basis of the gender.

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