LEGO says it is working ‘hard’ to make its toys more inclusive. The reason is the results of a worldwide study into those stereotypes, reports the Danish toy manufacturer.
That research shows that attitudes to play and future careers are unequal and restrictive among gender-stereotypical toys. The Danish toy maker announced the results on Monday at the United Nations International Day of the Girl.
Girls gain confidence and desire to participate in a wide variety of activities by playing with boy toys. The reverse is not the case, according to a survey of nearly 7,000 parents and children aged six to 14 from China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Seventy-one percent of boys surveyed feared being laughed at if they played with “girl toys,” a fear shared by their parents. “They are more concerned that their sons will be teased than their daughters for playing with toys of the opposite sex,” said CEO Madeline Di Nonno of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which conducted the study.
Behaviors associated with men also enjoy a higher appreciation in society, she says. “Until societies recognize that behaviors and activities typically associated with women are equally valuable or important, parents and children will be careful to embrace it,” Di Nonno said.
Out of proportion
The study also found that parents continued to encourage sons to participate in sports or activities involving science, math, engineering or technology that are in high demand in certain careers, while daughters were offered activities such as dancing and dressing up (girls were encouraged five times more for these activities than boys) or baking (three times more likely to be encouraged).
“These insights highlight how deeply entrenched gender biases are across the world,” said Oscar-winning actor and activist Geena Davis, who founded the institute that bears her name in 2004 to combat negative gender stereotyping and promote inclusion.
“There is disproportionality,” says neurobiologist Gina Rippon, author of the book The Gendered Brain. “We encourage girls to play with boy stuff, but not the other way around.” That is a problem, she says, because toys offer “training opportunities”. “So if girls don’t play with Lego or other construction toys, they don’t develop the spatial skills that will help them later. If girls are encouraged to play with dolls but boys are not, then boys lack parenting skills.”
That’s why LEGO wants to make toys more inclusive. “We’re working hard on it,” said Julia Goldin, head of product and marketing of the LEGO Group, the world’s largest toy maker. “Traditionally, LEGO has been used more by boys, but products like LEGO Dots or LEGO City Animal Rescue Camp are specifically designed to appeal to boys and girls. Our job now is to encourage boys and girls to play with sets that have traditionally been considered ‘not for them’,” Goldin said.
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