I thought my daughter was learning spelling for school – but she was also learning gender stereotypes

Women

She expected her daughter to learn new words in primary school. Instead, she found a spelling booklet filled with gender stereotypes, where women cooked and sewed while men worked late. CNA Women senior editor Penelope Chan reflects on the subtle messages children absorb about what girls and boys should do – and who they should become.

The writer noticed repeated gender stereotypes in the sample sentences used in her daughter’s primary school spelling booklet. (Photo: iStock/Chawkaew Poungpeth)

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