Have you ever wondered where and when we learn various gender stereotypes? That girls wear pink and boys wear blue, or a woman’s place is in the kitchen and a man’s place is in the office? Our society at large, which is predominantly patriarchal, implicitly inserts these ideas into our daily lives from childhood itself. Recently, a Twitter user shared a form in which there was no ‘Mother’ option under the ‘Guardian’ section.
As per a report in The Indian Express, William Sutcliffe from Edinburgh took to Twitter to highlight his daughter’s homework questions and how they re-inforced gender stereotypes. The maths worksheet contained questions describing women going on spa breaks and calculating weight loss. On the other hand, men were described as doing sit-ups and buying cycles. Check it out:
My daughter’s “curriculum for excellence” maths homework (used throughout Scotland) features sums about women going on spa breaks and calculating weight loss; men buying bikes and doing sit-ups. Very unimpressed wife has changed the names on the worksheet. pic.twitter.com/nMtux73VMM
— William Sutcliffe (@Will_Sutcliffe8) December 6, 2020
The questions left his wife “unimpressed”, and she struck-off and changed the names on the worksheet.
The tweet was met with a bunch of responses from many other concerned people. Some pointed towards the need to be the change we wish to see:
🤦🏼♀️……….we still have such a long way to go to address inequality in Scotland. Well done to your daughter…… each of us needs to step up to the challenge before we start to see the change 👏👏👏 xx
— Susan (@SusanWithThanks) December 6, 2020
Extraordinary. I would absolutely do the same. I’d love to see the teachers face when they get this back.
— Sarah 🏴🇪🇺🏴🇪🇺❤️❄️❄️ (@sarahjbingham) December 6, 2020
Math class is a reflection of greater society and an opportunity to turn that reflection into the change we wish to see. This kind of stuff is 🤮 We can do better.
— vaneSSa vakharia (@TheMathGuru) December 7, 2020
A teacher also suggested how worksheets can be reviewed and re-printed easily to correct such mistakes, quoting her past experience as an educator.
That is clearly a work sheet that can be printed and changed easily. I have been a teacher for 15 years and review each handout before I give it out. We all make mistakes and update our practice. It’s not about money. It’s about people who don’t care.
— SuzyT (@SuzyT55596326) December 7, 2020
Others shared their own experiences where they encountered everyday sexism:
My wife’s grant application in the 70s had to be signed by the father. “If not father, why not?” Her mother signed it and just wrote, “Because mother.”
— Neil Philip (@neilphilipmyth) December 6, 2020
My daughter had a drugs talk at school last week- apparently when boys drink they risk ‘wasting their talent’ whereas girls risk ‘losing their reputation’ 😤
— Katy Walker (@thekatywalker) December 6, 2020
2/2 who wanted to be a hairdresser. I spoke to deputy head, pointing out the bad message it sent to girls (they had to be fairy princesses) & how it would affect boys who wanted to be hairdressers he said, it’s just a bit of fun & it was a women who chose the illustrations 🤦🏻♀️
— Sam Currie (@SammoisaPunkRkR) December 6, 2020
After the tweet got a huge response from unhappy parents everywhere, the publisher of the teaching material called ‘TeeJay’ responded with an apology:
Hi William, this content is old and we are sorry that it is still in circulation; we have worked through many years of resources to ensure that content is updated and will be updating this to ensure that the contexts we use are truly appropriate.
— Teejay Maths (@Teejay_Maths) December 7, 2020
After the publisher promised to update the contents of the worksheet, Sutcliffe thanked them through another tweet:
Sometimes, Twitter is amazing. This tweet got a huge response, which within a day filtered through to the publisher of the teaching material, who got back to me with this reply. pic.twitter.com/QDbGCEpQOE
— William Sutcliffe (@Will_Sutcliffe8) December 8, 2020
Schools should be the place where gender stereotypes are questioned and not re-inforced. Like this Maharashtra school which promotes gender equality in textbooks featuring male chefs and female cops.
We are glad that people like this father are standing up for change, step by step.