Women Are the Breadwinners and Men are the Homemakers: Gender Socialization in Culture, Society, and Education

• Main Authors: Alexandria Almy, Elvira Sanatullova-Allison
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The International Academic Forum 2016-01-01
• Series: IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies
• Subjects: gender socialization; culture; society; education
• Online Access: https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-cultural-studies/volume-1-issue-1/article-3/

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of gender socialization in culture, society, and education, with a focus on how both student’s and teacher’s cultural and societal conditioning influence their behaviors in educational settings. To answer the question of what gender norms and beliefs of a teacher are transmitted to the classroom, the paper examines of how society and culture reinforce gender roles in education. Examples of gender socialization, gender roles, and sex stereotypes are used to discern the inequality in teaching students of different genders and sexes. The paper further analyzes how teachers’ biases can be detrimental to the learning of their students and how societal norms are sustained through self-fulfilling prophecies. Finally, the importance of gender competence for teachers is spotlighted and the significance of gender equity, as a powerful way to assure that students are granted fair opportunities in education, is brought to the foreground.