If you’ve ever told a boy he shouldn’t be upset, or called a girl bossy, keep on reading.
We all have gender bias; it’s okay to admit it. Even if you’re a strong believer in gender equity or a self-proclaimed feminist, it lingers in the back of your brain, deep in your subconscious.
Teachers play a critical role to prevent gender stereotypes and reduce gender bias in the classroom. In early education in particular, our children’s young brains are forming and imbibing every message.
I know that you’re probably stressed about setting up your classroom and getting your lesson plans ready. And trying to scrounge up a few extra dollars for all of the classroom supplies you need! But approaching the school year with a gender lens will help you ensure that every student learns, grows, and embraces their individuality.
(While I’m not an education professional, I am a gender equity and women’s policy expert… and a parent. Thanks for all you do for our children and for taking the time to help them each shine brightly! And thank you for taking the time to read these gender bias prevention tips with an open mind.)
Anti- Gender Bias Basics
1. Address your students equally. Instead of “girls and boys” try to use “students” or “friends,” a wonderful category our preschool uses. Do you use pet names, like champ, buddy, mate, lad, honey, sweetheart? These nicknames treat boys as tough and girls as delicate. (I’ve been guilty of this too!) Similarly, this piece articulates why saying “you guys” is inherently sexist, but it can also be alienating to individuals who are LGBTQ+.
2. Avoid separating children based on gender. Do you ask students to line up for the bathroom or recess by sex or gender? Are they grouped for activities this way? If you make sex a distinctive category frequently, children will think it matters more than it does. It will also present a tough challenge for children questioning their gender.
3. Learn about children as individuals. I once had (what I thought was) an excellent conversation with a new teacher at a preschool about my commitment to end gender stereotypes, and she echoed its importance. The following day she greeted my child at the door and asked her what her favorite color was. The teacher did not pause to wait for my child to answer, but instead asked “is PINK your favorite color?” even though my child was wearing yellow. Let the child tell you what they like. Related: not all girls like pink.
Children’s Appearances: Colors, Toys, and Clothes
4. Evaluate the way you greet students. A well-meaning preschool teacher greeted my daughter almost every morning with “you look so pretty today!” Constant comments about appearance reveal adults’ internalized beauty standards for women and girls; a lesson we needn’t pass on to the next generation. Try these tips instead.
5. Understand Walmart’s power over your teacher-student relationship. Your students’ wardrobes are largely dictated by the big box stores’ arbitrary decisions about what is labelled by gender and sorted in the “girls” and “boys” aisles. Only parents with the privileges of time and resources can find children’s clothing that are gender-inclusive and buck stereotypes (i.e. beyond superheroes and transportation for boys, and princesses and rainbows for girls). Don’t rely on the t-shirt graphic to give you insight into the child.
Related: Finally, longer shorts for girls
6. Toys and colors are for everyone. Seriously; don’t ask that boy if he’s sure he wants the pink sticker. If he chose the pink crayon or the princess dress-up gown, let it be. This is play, and I’m sure you agree that play is healthy, especially play that uses exploration and experimentation.
7. Question your school’s dress code. Is there a dress code? If so, check to see if it has different expectations for different sexes. Do many teachers feel that a girl wearing shorter shorts or a tank top will “distract” boys? Talk to your colleagues about how policing girls’ bodies can lead to self-consciousness, body monitoring, shame, and over-sexualization at a young age.
Get our body image guide here, which contains 8 advanced strategies.
Set Up a Gender-Equal Classroom Environment
8. Audit your bookshelf. In a review of our home library I found that the protagonist in children’s books was 8 times more likely to be male than female. To conduct an audit of your classroom books, download Think or Blue’s gender representation book audit form here.
9. Remember that female leads are for everyone. I’ve heard authors of girl-led books recount stories of educators wistfully declining an author visit because the boys wouldn’t be interested. Well.. boys certainly won’t be interested if adults fail to uphold stories of women and girls in history and today as valuable and important.
10. Reassess the visuals in your room. I personally find many classrooms to be visually overstimulating when every wall, nook, and cranny is filled with bright colors and posters. There is a case for the calm and serenity that comes with minimal decor. But if you display visuals during lessons such as “Community Helpers,” be sure that they reflect a variety of genders, ethnicities, and abilities.
11. Expand children’s role models. Use gender neutral words for professions, such as police officer, worker, mail carrier, fire fighter, nurse. Substitute “the men are fixing the roof” with “the workers are fixing the roof.” Read more about this easy tip.
In addition, witness the power of inviting real-life role models to the classroom, especially when they disrupt expected gender stereotypes.
Interactions among students
12. Encourage mixed gender friendships. Be cognizant of your tendency to encourage single-sex friendships, even if it’s subconscious. A teacher once reported to me proudly that my daughter had begun to develop closer relationships with other girls in the class. It wasn’t a goal or concern of ours, so I was confused. I’m happy for her to be friends with ALL children. Here’s why mixed-gender play is so healthy for everyone.
13. Equalize air time. Studies show that boys begin to interrupt other children at a young age. If my child is interrupted, she almost always stops talking. I’m currently working to give her the tools to say “I wasn’t done speaking yet,” or “I’m not finished.” Try the same in your classroom.
14. Evaluate children’s assigned and organic roles. During group projects, have you observed whether they self-select certain roles? Does a girl always end up being the “secretary/recorder”? If you observe this, take steps to rotate roles and help them share accountability.
15. Teach consent your students. Remind them to ask before they touch each other and that consent can be withdrawn at any time. Model this yourself, too. Once, on a day my daughter had a tough time entering the classroom, an energetic assistant teacher swooped my child up in the air and jiggled her. This trick may have worked well to acclimate other students, but it backfired and my daughter started sobbing. I informed the teacher that my child was not used to being picked up without permission. Watch this video for more tips about consent.
16. Help boys lose gracefully. If a girl beats other classmates at sports, or shines academically, don’t console the boys or feel the need to shore up their self-confidence. Boys will sometimes lose to girls, in the classroom and someday in the boardroom. The earlier they learn this, the better. Help them take this defeat gracefully.
Teachers, Check Your Personal Bias
17. Check your assumptions. Do you assume girls will want to read or play hopskotch, or that boys will want to build or play sports? Teachers have sometimes led my daughter to crayons during dropoff, rather than asking her if she wants to build, or asking what SHE is interested in playing with. Follow the child’s interests whenever possible. 20 Places Your Gender Bias is Hiding.
18. Work on your own anti-bias and stereotyping outside of the classroom. Who are your friends? Where do you spend your time outside of school, and with whom? Whose social media do you follow? Take steps to diversify your personal time. A few educator accounts I love are:
- Britt Hawthorne @britthawthorne
- Amelia Allen, @Hood_Montessorian
- Liz Kleinrock, Teach and Transform
- Naomi O’Brien, Read Like a Rock Star
- Nikolai Pizarro, Raising Readers
They have taught me valuable lessons about white saviorism in classrooms and the importance of learning names properly. Plus many more important lessons. Go follow them!
19. Plan ahead for how you would respond to a transgender or gender non-conforming child. If you haven’t had a transgender or gender non-conforming student in your class or your school, even better reason to prepare for how you and your school would handle it. Is there a policy about bathrooms, sports teams, and pronouns? How will you help the other students be compassionate and better understand the child’s journey? Get better educated.
20. Reconsider discipline. First, check your school district’s discipline record within the Office of Civil Rights, and how it differs by gender and race. Second, check your own bias. Children of color are more likely to be disciplined, and adults tend to think that black girls are more mature than white girls. Think about this before you discipline.
Thank you, teachers, for the work you do every day. And for taking the time to learn more tips for how teachers can reduce gender bias and gender stereotypes in the classroom. YOU are changing the future!
Is your school, classroom, or parent group interested in learning more about how gender bias impacts children + strategies to overcome it? Learn more about my services here.
If you’re ready to book a workshop, head straight here:
#2 should be avoided. Just as you said, separating children by sex, particularly those who may be contemplating their gender, can be tough/challenging. I made this mistake, and will never do it again. From now on I will split the class up in a way that has nothing to do with gender and try to be more sensitive to those who are establishing their identities.
One question about the sportsmanship- why do you assume only boys need to learn this? I’ve observed poor winners and poor losers in all genders. If you’re going specifically for boy-vs-girl athletics, I can see why that might feel different at first. But the girl who really rubs it in and tells him he should feel salty or go home and cry for getting beat by a girl is, ultimately, just reinforcing the stereotype that this isn’t “normal.”
Yes such an important topic! I felt so affected when I was in school.
This is so important, outside of the classroom too! And I agree – colors aren’t gender exclusive. My girl is going to wear a lot of blue because it’s my favorite color haha!
I’m so with you on the colors thing. I have both a daughter and a son, and no one cares if my daughter wears blue, but my son gets a reaction if he were to wear pink. Gets on my nerves just thinking about it!
So true. They’re just colors, after all. Can you imagine if we assigned shapes to babies – only girls can have squares and boys can have circles? People would think that was bizarre.