Did you know that a three or four-year-old child is already gender-biased?
Several research studies have found that young children “exhibit gender stereotypes, racial prejudice, and preference for their own race”. Danielle Perszyk, a psychologist at Northwestern University, and her colleagues also confirm that children begin to show bias from an early age. Not only do they absorb the stereotypes they see, but they also become “increasingly attuned to social category labels, social status, and the biases exhibited by family members.”
With the International Women’s Day theme this year of #BreakTheBias, I wanted to learn more about how young children learn gender bias and the methods we can use to help them unlearn the prejudice they’ve already absorbed. If this bias is challenged in preschool followed by ongoing support in curriculum and activities, perhaps we can reduce the damaging effect of gender bias for women and girls throughout their schooling, their lives, and careers.
Read the full article on Forbes.com here.
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