The mythical phrase "Do not do what I do, do what I say" has no place in the early childhood educationAt least, that has revealed a study entitled “How stereotypes shape the identity of women and their careers“Presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology in New Orleans.
The study, conducted on 196 boys and 167 girls between 7 and 13 years old and their parents (145 fathers and 213 mothers), focuses on the strength of the stereotypes and the importance of a real egalitarian education for the development, in particular, of daughters. A sexist education affects girls to the point of determining their future and their social and labor aspirations, making them conformist women.
“When gender roles are learned, implicit actions and attitudes speak louder than words,” explains Toni Schmader, professor of psychology at University of British Columbia (Canada) “Parents are proud to teach their children that they can be whatever they want. However, parental behavior and culture itself continue to reinforce traditional female gender roles. ” That is, children do not only look at words and their education is given by family behavior, factors such as that mom clean or cook more than dad or that dad works more time away from home than mom influence and affect the future development of children.
The father projects his ideal female model on his daughter
A curious fact of the study is that the girls' behavior is given by the example given by the father, not the mother (this detail is explained because the man continues to look like the member with more status within the family nucleus). Girls who grow up with an egalitarian family model and a non-sexist environment show some broader and less stereotyped interests, while girls who grow up with a sexist father model are attracted to toys "for girls" or television programs "for girls." This, according to the psychologist Tori Schmader, it happens because the father projects in his daughter the model of woman in which he wants her to become. Therefore, if you project a model of a stereotyped woman, it will be what your daughter becomes.
The study, conducted on children between seven and thirteen and their parents, also shows that, although women work outside the home, they tend to face more domestic tasks and are more likely to leave their professional career for their family than men. Therefore, both parents and children continue to associate women more with the care of children and the home.
He sexist behavior The father also influences when determining the career that his daughter will choose in the future, feeling less attracted to science careers such as computer science or mathematics, this is conditioned once again with the small range of interests that these girls usually have.
However, we find examples in our society that throws away the data of this study, for example, girls born during the Franco regime within a traditional and patriarchal family have their studies, their career and their independence, which makes me Ask: Couldn't two opposite cases perfectly occur? That is, that of conformist girls versus the girls who decide to break the education they have been given at home and rebel against it.
What do you think of this study? Do you consider that you preach by example or only by words?
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