Nursery World - Gender stereotyping of job roles increases in boys from the age of seven, but decreases in girls

Children, and especially boys, demonstrate stronger stereotyping about masculine and feminine jobs than previously suspected, a study by the University of Sussex has revealed.

Children changed the pitch of their voices when role-playing different occupations

While girls’ gender stereotyping begins to decline around the age of seven-years-old the study found that boys’ preconceived ideas around gender actually increases at that age.

Psychologists at the university tapped into children’s unconscious stereotypes by asking them to speak in the voices of people with different occupations.

This approach was taken instead of asking participants what they think about men and women doing different jobs, because there are concerns that this can mask people’s true beliefs owing to their desire to confirm.

The research found that for stereotypically male jobs, both sexes spontaneously masculinised their voices, by lowering pitch and resonance, and they also feminised their voices for stereotypically female occupations, by raising their pitch and resonance.

Boys also used an overtly masculine voice even when imitating workers in gender-neutral roles, the study found.

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