The Development of Occupational Sex‐role Stereotypes, Occupational Preferences and Academic Subject Preferences in Children at Ages 8, 12 and 16

Abstract

This paper reports data from a questionnaire‐based UK study aimed at examining occupational sex‐role stereotypes and occupational preferences of male and female pupils at three ages. Data were collected from 594 children in total (108 8‐year‐olds, 307 12‐year‐olds and 177 16‐year‐olds) who responded to questions that asked for their views on who (males, females or both) should perform certain occupations and how much they would like to have each of the occupations as their career. The children were also asked to indicate their favourite school subject. Analysis indicated that the youngest age group held significantly more stereotyped views regarding who should perform certain jobs than the older children and that, generally, boys sex‐typed appropriateness of occupations to a significantly greater degree than girls, although this difference was not significant in the youngest age group. Furthermore, analysis of the occupational preference ratings revealed significant differences between male and female subjects for many occupations, with higher ratings generally being awarded to stereo‐typically gender‐appropriate careers. Significant differences between the three age groups were also observed in the preference ratings for many occupations, with a tendency for the majority of occupations to be perceived less favourably with increasing age of respondent. Finally, school subject preferences were considered. No consistent or stable pattern of preference emerged for males and females across age‐groups, confirming recent suggestions that gender stereotyping of school subjects is weakening.