Ask young children what they want to be when they grow up. It is likely that scientific occupations such as astronaut and doctor will be at the top of the job list. But ask them to draw a scientist and they are twice as likely to draw a male figure as a female.
Children can form these biases from a variety of sources. But perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised to see the absence of female scientists in children's drawings when the illustrations we show them are often just as bad.
Our study of pictures in children's science books revealed that girls were significantly under-represented. We examine photographs and illustrations in children's books. In the world of physics in particular, pictures often fail to communicate a woman's technical abilities or knowledge. The images in the book give the impression that science is a subject for men and that careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) do not reward women. qqcitybet
Developmental theories explain that children learn gender expectations to help them respond according to their social environment. This affects their understanding of who they are and encourages them to behave in ways that are conventional for their gender.
The pictures of boys and girls in children's science books contribute to this expectation by teaching them the 'rules' of gender-appropriate work. This encourages them to adhere to the prevailing gender career stereotypes.
To address this, female role models should be seen in books to help develop girls' interest in science as they grow older, and overcome negative perceptions of female scientists.
Where are the women in science?
Our research analyzed illustrated science books for children in two public libraries in the UK. First we calculated the frequency of images of boys, girls, boys and girls in the 160 available books. Then we did a detailed visual analysis of two scientific professions: astronauts and doctors. In this 26-volume section, we examine what male and female astronauts and doctors do, wear, and hold in the images.
We found that, overall, children's science books featured three times as many boys as girls, reinforcing the stereotype that science is a boy's pursuit. The under-representation of women is further exacerbated by the increasing age of the book's target audience. Women are generally described as passive, low-status and untrained – or their whereabouts are unknown.
For example, a children's book on space exploration shows what it takes to walk in space. With a picture of an astronaut in his white space suit, we are told that "without a spacesuit an astronaut's blood would boil and his body would blow apart, the astronaut's blood would boil and his body (a male astronaut) would explode". The use of the male pronoun ( his) indicates that the person in the spacesuit is a male.
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