Why Prevention is Better than Cure
Addressing the urgent need to tackle gender biases in Early Childhood Education
Gender & Gender Equality
The World Health Organization defines Gender1 as the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time. Gender interacts with but is different from sex, which refers to the different biological and physiological characteristics of females, males and intersex persons, such as chromosomes, hormones and reproductive organs.
Gender equality2 is the idea that all people, regardless of gender, have the same rights, opportunities, resources, and protections. It is not only a fundamental human right but also a critical indicator of sustainable development. Recognising how both conscious and unconscious gender biases shape individual lived experiences is crucial for achieving this equality.
Understanding Biases & Their Long Lasting Impact
Research demonstrates that biases absorbed in early childhood can profoundly influence decision-making and self-perception. While multiple factors contribute to these biases, the people children interact with during formative years play a decisive role in shaping these perceptions. Pre-primary teachers, in particular, are pivotal in determining how early education contributes to gender equality. Studies (e.g., Bayne, 2009; Nabbuye, 2018) reveal3 that even in settings with gender-responsive curricula, teachers often provide more attention to boys and hold lower expectations for girls, inadvertently perpetuating stereotypes.
Building on existing research, we wanted to understand the prevalence and impact of gender biases in early childhood in the Indian context. As part of that effort, we visited 18 Anganwadi Centres across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra to conduct primary research.
One thing that we found was how the key influencers in a child’s life—Anganwadi workers and family members—often hold deeply ingrained gender biases, sometimes unknown to themselves. These are then passed down to the children, perpetuating a vicious cycle. For example, in conversations with Anganwadi workers and parents, both readily affirmed the importance of education for all children - but scratching beneath the surface showed how deep-rooted gender biases shape their thinking about the purpose of this education.
For boys, going to school was seen as absolutely essential because “they'll need to support their families one day”. But when it came to girls, some of their responses often made education feel like a bonus feature - something that's nice to have but not a must have, mainly because “it'll help them be better mothers later on”. This points to a subtle but telling divide: boys are still being prepared for the world of work, while girls are largely envisioned as future homemakers.
Unchecked gender biases have profound and far-reaching consequences, deepening social and economic inequalities. These biases leave a lasting impact on multiple areas of life, including:
Career Choice: A 2021 report4 by the World Economic Forum highlights how biases disproportionately affect women by often preventing them from participating fully in key sectors of the economy. For instance, girls are frequently guided toward "feminine" fields like literature, arts, and social sciences, while boys are encouraged to pursue subjects such as engineering, science, and mathematics. This contributes to the significant underrepresentation of girls in STEM fields. A similar trend is observed closer to home, in India, where engineering classrooms only have 29% female representation5, and women’s representation reduces as one moves up the ladder to post graduate, and PHD programs.
Educational Attainment: According to the National Family Health Survey6 (NFHS-5), only 30% of girls aged 15-18 in rural India complete higher secondary education, compared to 50% of boys. Researchers have tried to understand this gap in education attainment, and choice of study, which exists in different measures globally. While there are many pieces to this puzzle, differing familial expectations for boys and girls, access to resources, and existing biases play a big role7.
Ingrained Toxic Masculinity: It’s not just girls, and women that face the brunt of gender norms, boys and men are affected too. They can face pressures of becoming breadwinners for their families early on, and can often be restricted by harmful norms of masculinity8.
Participation In The Economy: Gender-based exclusion not only perpetuates cycles of poverty but also limits women's access to education and economic opportunities, affecting entire communities. The World Bank estimates9 that reducing gender inequality could boost global GDP by as much as $160 trillion, underscoring the immense potential of fostering gender equality for global economic growth. In a similar estimate10, the World Bank said that India could boost its GDP by 1.5 percentage points if 50% of women participated in the economy.
In future articles, we will be focusing on these gender perceptions and their impact in greater depths, and uncovering how the views of educators, care givers, and community members shape children’s perspectives on gender using data we have found through our primary, and secondary research.
The Potential of Early Intervention through Education
For eons, education has been considered as the "greatest equaliser" and a realm that has immense transformational power to combat social inequalities. The potential of educational systems to achieve gender equality is paramount but there’s still a long way to go before it can be realised. Huge progress has been made, and gender parity in education has skyrocketed around the globe - between 1995 and 2018, the percentage of countries with gender parity in education rose from 56 per cent to 65 percent in primary, from 45 per cent to 51 per cent in lower secondary, and from 13 per cent to 24 per cent in upper secondary education11. However, parity doesn’t showcase the full picture - there’s much to do to make quality learning accessible, and even more so to address gender norms that permeate across education systems.
Gender transformation in early education is pertinent as research shows that the brain is most flexible, or "plastic," early in life to accommodate various environments and interactions. India’s National Education Policy 202012 also highlights that 85% of a child’s brain develops by the age of 5 years. Children also assimilate gender stereotypes about each other's gender as early as two to three years of age, with the perception of intelligence about one's gender being solidified before the age of six13. This early formation of gender identity and stereotypes is reflected and reinforced in schools, which often mirror broader social structures and legacies of structural oppression. According to Hurrelmann and Bauer, the school is a place of social learning—a “social microcosm of reality”, where children learn the social roles and manners that are typical for a society, through interactions with teachers and student body14.
Our research with children at Anganwadis showed that along with forming perceptions about their own identities, children as young as 4 years old have a distinct understanding of the gender roles in society based on what they see in their homes. Through carefully designed play-based activities, we explored these perceptions by asking them to tell us if they thought certain activities and professions were done by men or women, or both. While most children were quick to sort these into stereotypes, assigning teaching and housework to women and choosing men as doctors, shopkeepers and office workers; we discovered moments that highlighted the power of representation.
In one such interaction, a young girl selected the female character when asked who works in an office. When we asked why she thought so, her reasoning was simple; it was because her aunt works in an office. This lends itself to an important insight: when children are exposed to positive, aspirational role models in the early years, it significantly shapes their view of the possibilities the future holds for them.
An OECD study15 of five year olds in England and Estonia found that even at that early an age, girls were more likely to aspire to caring roles, such as being a nurse, while boys aspire to traditionally masculine careers like those in transportation and construction.
Key Areas of influence in the Preventative Approach to Gender Inclusion
Early Childhood Interventions: Gender-inclusive and transformative education models in early learning environments can be key to breaking down stereotypes before they become ingrained in children. As per UNICEF, Gender Transformative Education is about inclusive, equitable, quality education (SDG 4, particularly target 4.7) and nurturing an environment of gender justice for children, adolescents and young people in all their diversity(SDG 5, particularly target 5.1). Gender Transformative Education can remove barriers to education and boost progress towards important social shifts, such as the reduction of gender-based violence and early marriage, increased participation of women in the labour market, the promotion of gender equality, and women’s and girls’ leadership in decision-making roles.
Transformative interventions could involve creating classrooms where children are exposed to diverse role models and activities that challenge traditional gender roles. For example, boys can be encouraged to participate in caregiving or nurturing activities, while girls can be prompted to engage in leadership or problem-solving tasks, promoting the idea that all activities are equally valuable regardless of gender.
Curriculum Reform: The design of an inclusive curriculum is another crucial strategy that can be used to combat gender bias in early education. Such a curriculum can include feature stories, role models, and activities that equally represent both genders and challenge stereotypes. Textbooks and learning materials should feature boys and girls in a variety of roles—scientists, caregivers, leaders, and artists—without reinforcing outdated gender norms. The language used in instructional materials should also be neutral and inclusive, avoiding assumptions that boys are naturally better at math or that girls excel in arts and crafts. Training teachers to recognise and challenge their own biases when teaching and assessing students is essential in fostering an equitable learning environment.
Policy-making: Governmental policies are an important lever in enforcing equal opportunities through gender parity initiatives. These legislative frameworks must be supported by local leadership that can drive cultural and policy changes at the grassroots level, ensuring that gender-inclusive practices become embedded in everyday life.
System change by creating gender-inclusive policies at both governmental and organisational levels will lay the groundwork for systemic change. Such policies can focus on ensuring equal access to education and opportunities, not just for girls but also for other marginalised genders. Policies that mandate gender sensitivity training for educators, caregivers, and parents can help mitigate biases that are often unconsciously perpetuated. The Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi capacity building program to capacitate Anganwadi workers being run under the aegis of MWCD has topics covering gender sensitive teaching to make AWWs better educators.
We have looked at existing policies in the Indian context and identified opportunities to make them more gender transformative; this research will be extensively covered in one of our upcoming substacks!
Community Engagement: Community-driven approaches play a significant role in fostering gender-inclusive behaviour both at home and in public spaces. Local leaders, religious figures, and influencers can be engaged to advocate for gender equality and challenge deep-rooted patriarchal norms. Workshops, discussion groups, and community-led projects can encourage both men and women to critically assess gender roles in their daily lives and raise awareness about the harmful effects of traditional gender expectations. Encouraging male allies and role models to advocate for gender equality, particularly in caregiving and education, can have a profound impact on shifting public perceptions.
Awareness Campaigns: Media and public health campaigns are crucial in preventing gender-based violence and promoting gender inclusion. Campaigns like #HeForShe has shown the power of widespread media efforts in reshaping public attitudes towards gender equality. These campaigns should be designed to highlight stories of gender inclusivity, challenge harmful stereotypes, and educate the public on issues like the importance of equal access to education for all genders. Localised campaigns that focus on changing attitudes toward girls’ education, reducing violence against women, and promoting gender-neutral parenting are also effective in engaging communities to take ownership of this social change.
Some Examples of preventative approaches
Gender Mainstreaming in textbooks in Nepal16: Following a review of gender representation in textbooks in 1999, the Government of Nepal initiated a change process to create gender-responsive teaching and learning materials. A standardised house style was introduced, ensuring textbooks represented men and women equitably, replacing gender-biased words like "headmaster," "chairman," and "salesman" with neutral terms such as "principal," "chairperson," and "salesperson." To sustain these reforms, a 2007 policy institutionalised periodic evaluations, mandating reviews every five years and comprehensive reforms every ten years. This initiative underscores the importance of policy-driven systemic change to foster gender equality in education through inclusive and regularly updated materials.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao(BBBP)17 in India: Operated under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Education, BBBP integrates community mobilisation, school infrastructure upgrades, conditional cash transfers, and mass media campaigns to shift societal attitudes. The scheme was launched to address gender disparity in India by combating the declining child sex ratio and promoting girls' education and empowerment and is a unique model for fostering gender equality.
Barriers in Implementing Preventative Approaches
Deep-rooted practices and entrenched beliefs that reinforce bias are difficult to change: Achieving large-scale behavioural change is challenging: as the saying goes, "Old habits die hard." However, successful public campaigns like the "Swachh Bharat Mission" demonstrate that with the right messaging and community involvement, positive behaviour change is possible. While breaking gender stereotypes is no easy task, small, consistent efforts can collectively create a more equitable world for everyone, regardless of gender.
Gender stereotypes are often intensified when combined with other societal issues such as race, socio-economic status, and caste: This makes it crucial to raise awareness and drive behaviour change across all sections of society. While there may be no single solution to address these complex issues, a multifaceted approach involving both governance and community engagement is essential for creating meaningful and lasting change.
When designing and implementing interventions, a key metric to assess is the impact of the outcomes: However, when it comes to gender-based interventions in ECCE as a preventative measure, measuring success quantitatively in the short term can be challenging. These interventions are often geared toward creating long-term change, and their full impact may not be immediately visible. In many cases, it can also be difficult to directly attribute the long-term outcomes to the initial interventions.
Conclusion
Adopting a preventive approach to gender inclusion by tackling the root causes of inequalities early on, before they shape a child's worldview, is crucial.
Addressing gender bias requires a holistic, multi-faceted approach that begins in early childhood and permeates through educational systems, policy frameworks, and community initiatives. By fostering gender-inclusive education models, reforming curricula, introducing role models through various activities, and empowering educators and parents to recognise and combat biases, a strong foundation for gender equality can be laid out for the next generation.
We all must work together to share best practices, monitor progress, and hold one another accountable in the global fight against gender-based exclusion. Through a combination of education, policy reform, and community-driven initiatives, we can collectively break down long-standing gender stereotypes, paving the way for a more equitable, inclusive future.
Edited by Apurva Desai (Lead - Communications, Rocket Learning)
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