See Priya Cook: Gender Bias Pervades Textbooks Worldwide : Goats and Soda : NPR

Not terribly surprising that textbooks in many countries reflect cultures and biases:

“If aliens beamed onto Earth and read our school textbooks, they wouldn’t have a clue about what women contribute to our society,” says Rae Blumberg, a sociologist at the University of Virginia.

Blumberg has spent years looking at textbooks from all over the world. In almost every country she has studied, women are either completely written out of texts — or they’re portrayed in stereotypical, often subservient roles.

Take for instance, a history and geography book for third graders used in West Bengal, India. The book doesn’t show or mention any career women. It only depicts women cooking for men, serving men or caring for children.

An English language textbook used throughout Kenya looks similar. Children read about women and girls in the domestic realm: “My mother’s cooking pot has a lid,” and “Jane should plait the doll’s hair herself.” But children read about how men and boys take action: “Mr. Momanyi drives the bus,” and “His idea is an interesting one.”

“What we see is that the boys are being described as daring and brave and kind and intelligent,” Blumberg says. “And they’re doing things. They’re taking action. The girls are essentially nonentities.”

…”It seems like a small thing,” she says. “But a bunch of studies show that when girls don’t see themselves in textbooks, they’re less likely to envision themselves doing great things.”

In an Israeli study, for instance, first graders who used readers that portray men and women as equals tended to think that most careers and activities were appropriate for both girls and boys. In contrast, students who used textbooks that portray gender stereotypes tended to believe and accept the stereotypes.

…Some countries have made efforts to fix gender biases in school books, she says. “In Sweden these days, if you see a children’s book with a picture of someone cooking or cleaning, it’s more likely to be a boy,” Blumberg says.

When in high school some 30 years ago, a bunch of us wrote a study on how girls and women were portrayed in high school texts along with other examples of sexism (Is Anybody Out There Listening? a Study of Sexism in a Sceondary School, published in 1976 by the Ontario Status of Women Council).

If memory serves me correctly, the science textbooks were particularly egregious, as was the fact that the girls’ gym was far smaller than the boys’ gym.

See Priya Cook: Gender Bias Pervades Textbooks Worldwide : Goats and Soda : NPR.