Stop Gender Stereotyping!
Let’s be done with gender specific toys! (Photo credit: jonathan mcintosh)
One of my favorite morning rituals is to browse the papers in the early morning to catch up with what is going on and to be inspired! WSJ is one of standard papers I read. On top of the front page I read: Don’t be the office Tech Dinosaur (which makes sense as old pros sometime tend to reject new technology because they just didn’t or don’t want to get into it) and then I read the next headline which infuriated me to no end:
‘ The Toys’ that would turn girls into Scientists’ and on page 6 the full title reads: “Can new building toys for girls improve Math and Science skills? By Diana Kapp. To further add insult to injury there are 2 color photos of a plastic tree house and an classroom made up of plastic blocks!
Wow, Ms. Kapp! Newsflash: Girls ( I suggest you join our movement to try to stop the segregation of ‘girls’ into a separate class and stop finding gender-specific toys for girls) are the same as boys. No need to classify girls and suggest that ‘girls’ are different. Last I recall, Lego made toys for kids, NOT JUST GIRLS! We are trying very hard to remove the gender stereotyping, make gender a NON-ISSUE, so that we can have girls and boys be excited about science in school , college and eradicate the lack of women in technology and science leadership. But the game starts here and with inappropriate articles such as yours which further the problem. If you felt compelled to write an article about building toys and impact on science and math, then make it about kids, not girls.
Second news flash: Girls play with the same toys (which today includes electronics and not just blocks) and don’t build pretty tree houses with flowers! I was so furious when I read this article that I discussed it with my male executive friends who have young girls, we all agreed that you not only this article does NOT add value, but those of us with daughters don’t agree with your assessment. You are furthering a stereotype which we are working hard to stop. We encourage you to write about kids, not girls, and as the article by Sue Shellenbarger in WSJ suggests, Don’t be a tech dinosaur, and please realize that words have consequences. Science is both for girls and boys and separating the 2 adds no value, rather,it regresses us in our mission to eliminate gender stereotypes. There was a famous Harvard president as you recall, who had to leave Harvard because he said, girls are not as good in science/math as boys…. We all know who he is. Please be careful not to promote gender stereotyping in science and tech. Even remote stereotyping suggestions, creates huge reaction. Creates a global reaction! Please be mindful of what you write!
(Photo credit: crises_crs)
And finally, people are busy and sometimes, they only read headlines and look at pictures. I would HATE if all they remembered from your article is toys for girls in math and science and a cute tree house with flowers…. For those of us fighting the battle to get more women into math and sciences and promote women in technology leadership, I did not find your article adding to our mission, rather hurting our mission. Fortunately, the male readership of WSJ who have young girls know that toys for math and science for ‘girls’ are not and should not be different than toys for ‘boys’! To WSJ editor: Please review the articles more carefully!
Ms. Kapp, we urge you to write articles to help us bring gender equality in math, sciences and technology and not those regressing us by a few decades. As a female, I am sure you want the same equality as we all do!
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