Despite the strides women have taken in modern society, sexist stereotypes still linger and can have monumental, detrimental effects. A study published in Social Sciences seeks to investigate the relationship between stereotypes that men are smarter and more talented than women and gender gaps.
Women outnumber men in higher education in many Western countries, but a glass ceiling persists, leaving women still struggling to reach top leadership, high wages, and fields that are predominantly male.
Previous research has looked into the idea of ‘brilliance’ and shown that men are perceived as being more brilliant than women, making people doubt the capabilities of women to perform a job or task that seems to require brilliance to achieve. These stereotypes and their effects have been studied in some cultures and scenarios, but this paper seeks to use a multinational investigation to investigate how they function worldwide.
Study authors Clotilde Napp and Thomas Breda utilized data from over 500,000 students in 72 countries for this study. They extracted data from an international student assessment that is conducted every 2 years called the PISA2018. It samples students who are 15 years old in mathematics, reading, and science. 37 countries utilized are considered mostly developed and 39 countries utilized are considered developing. It includes measures on students’ feelings about competition, self-confidence, and expected careers.
Results showed that many gender gaps that are thought to be related to enforcing the glass ceiling are more pronounced in more developed countries, in countries that have higher levels of gender equality, and among students who are high-achieving.
“The first pattern suggests that the glass ceiling is unlikely to disappear as countries develop or become more gender-egalitarian,” the researchers said. “The second is worrying as high-performing students are the most likely to be concerned with the glass ceiling.”
This study showed that there weren’t gender gaps in student’s confidence for things like reading, which is not thought of as male dominated, but such gaps do exist for subjects like mathematics, which is often thought to require brilliance to excel in.
Alternatively, this study found evidence that gender stereotypes can hurt boys too, finding a gender gap in homework and a gender gap in the belief that trying hard at school is important, both which favored girls. When asked about future career plans, girls projected themselves as working at more high-power careers at 30-years-old than the boy students did.
But the study has some limitations as well. One such limitation is that the study was limited to 15-year-old participants, making it difficult to know what effect we would see on younger or older people. Additionally, this study was not longitudinal, so we cannot know how or if these stereotypes went on to negatively affect girl’s futures.
Nevertheless, the study took important strides into understanding the effects of gender stereotyping on a global level.
“The evidence provided in the paper suggests, in particular, that exposure to cultural stereotypes about girls’ intellectual abilities and talent leads boys and girls to develop attitudes and preferences that they may not have had otherwise,” the researchers said. “In sending these messages, our culture may needlessly limit the behaviors, preferences, and career options that boys and girls consider.”
“Gender-talent stereotypes may actually also hurt boys. For example, it may lead them to rely too much on talent and quick learning, to underestimate the role of effort over ability in the performance of particular tasks, to despise hard and in-depth study, and to abandon school work in case of failure.”
The study, “The stereotype that girls lack talent: A worldwide investigation“, was published March 9, 2022.