A new study shows girls and boys as young as seven have the choice of jobs with gender differences. Girls choose jobs based on care and love, while boys choose jobs based on money and power.
Professor Laura Scholes and Dr Sarah McDonald surveyed 332 Year 3 students from 14 Australian schools. They found that the top professions for boys included sports and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) related jobs, while girls, on the other hand, wanted to be teachers or nurses.
Professor Scholes said the influence of gender stereotypes (刻板印象) on such choices begins in early childhood. “Bright pink toys for girls and blue toys for boys are sold on store shelves around the world.” she said, “In the boys’ section, you’ll find science, construction and warfare toys—perhaps a robot or a telescope. In the girls’ section, you’ll see toys related to cleaning, dolls, kitchens, makeup, jewellery and crafts.”
“This results in lower numbers of girls taking STEM subjects at school. In turn, this means fewer women are going to work in the sciences.” Professor Scholes’s comments came as women make up only 2 percent of the STEM workforce, with the biggest gap in the highest-paid jobs of computer science and engineering.
In Australia, some brands are no longer targeting boys or girls with their toys. Danish toy giant Lego last week announced that they would remove gender stereotypes from their toys, after a global study found that 71 percent of boys feared being made fun of for playing with toys marketed at girls. Lego said its products were mainly used by boys, but it promised to work to remove gender preference from its toys and instead market them for both genders.
【小题1】Which of the following jobs do the boys tend to choose?| A．Programmers | B．Teachers | C．Nurses | D．Dressers |
| A．Because of the influence of gender stereotypes. |
| B．Because of their desire to be teachers or nurses. |
| C．Because of their hobbies based on care and love. |
| D．Because the jobs concerned with sciences are low-paid. |
| A．Advertise their products for boys. |
| B．Advertise their products for both genders. |
| C．Target boys or girls with their products. |
| D．Using gender stereotypes from their toys. |
| A．Fewer girls choose STEM subjects |
| B．Clever children love STEM subjects |
| C．Brands target children with their toys based on gender |
| D．Gender differences affect job choosing for children |
