What do men and women do?

This activity is something that you can do with children aged between about 4 and 11 years
old. Its based on a test that psychologists have used to explore childrens expectations of
gender. At the very least, it can get you and your child into an interesting talk!
Get the test ready
First print out the download sheet What do men and women do?. Cut the sheet in two across
the middle and then cut out the set of 15 squares showing different occupations, and shuffle
them. Put the bottom half of the sheet, with the three boxes on it, facing your child and within
their reach.
Find out what your child thinks
Hand your child the first occupation cut-out, read it out, and then ask them to put it on the box
that it goes with; either 'woman', 'man' or, 'woman or man'. You could ask, for example, which
of these do think is most likely to be a dancer: a 'man', a 'woman', or 'woman or man'? (Make
sure you dont ask leading questions that might bias your childs response.)
You can follow up each one by asking your child why they made their choice.
Making sense of how your child responds
There are many different reasons why a child may appear to think that some occupations are
for men and others are for women. We might assume that they have absorbed some cultural
stereotypes, and indeed they may have done, but they may also just be reflecting their
experience. If they know an artist who happens to be female, it would not be surprising if they
expected other artists to be female, for example. Your child may also have a shrewd idea of
what you expect, and might be inclined to say what they think you would most like to hear!
Can you think of any other reasons why they might have responded as they did?
What are your expectations?
Your child is indeed likely to be affected by what you believe about gender-appropriate
behaviour. How did you react to each of the 15 occupations? Do you think that they are all
gender-neutral? Or do you think that at least some of them are more appropriate for men or
women? Where did your ideas come from?

Open University 2005

What do men and women do?

woman

woman or man

man

Builder

Train driver

Teacher

Doctor

Butcher

Pilot

Dancer

Scientist

Hairdresser

Cleaner

Judge

Nurse

Soldier

Dentist

Artist

Open University 2005