71 percent of people think boys are less emotional than girls. Majorities also hold that men fit aggression and technical roles better than women do. These attitudes align with documented gaps in pay, leadership representation, media content, and workplace treatment.
Key Takeaways
- 71% of people think boys are less emotional than girls (based on survey question about emotions)
- 56% of people think it is more acceptable for men than women to be aggressive (gender norms about aggression)
- 52% of people think women are less suited for jobs in technical fields than men
- 60% of women and 47% of men in the EU report encountering discrimination at work due to gender (Eurobarometer; “discrimination at work because of gender”)
- 10.9% gender pay gap in the EU (unadjusted) in 2022
- 14.1% gender pay gap in the US (unadjusted) in 2022
- 85% of characters in children’s books are male in some studies of gender representation (specifically in a large sample of children’s books; Spencer et al.)
- 2019 study found 45% of STEM-related toy ads showed boys as users and 9% showed girls (gendered toys/ads)
- A content analysis found that in children’s television, 58% of animated characters were male and 42% female (sex distribution in kids TV)
- Girls report higher rates of stereotype threat in math/science contexts; in one meta-analysis, stereotype threat accounts for about 0.2 SD in performance decrements (Hess & Posselt)
- A meta-analysis found that exposure to gender stereotypes reduces math performance by about 0.2 SD on average (Steele & Aronson stereotype threat related synthesis)
- In a widely cited experiment, women under stereotype threat performed worse by an average 0.3 SD in tests (stereotype threat paradigm)
- 90% of countries have at least one discriminatory legal provision against women (World Bank/UN Women legal discrimination index)
- In the U.S., women’s labor force participation is lower after childbirth; employment dip after first birth is about 7-10 percentage points (OECD/ILO)
- 193 countries have ratified CEDAW (as of 2023/2024 count)
Many believe rigid gender roles limit opportunities, with major workplace, leadership, and STEM stereotypes persisting.
Related reading
01 · Category
Attitudes_and_Beliefs30 stats
01
71% of people think boys are less emotional than girls (based on survey question about emotions)
02
56% of people think it is more acceptable for men than women to be aggressive (gender norms about aggression)
03
52% of people think women are less suited for jobs in technical fields than men
04
48% of people say it is harder for women than men to get ahead at work
05
45% of people agree that men are usually better suited for politics than women
06
43% of people agree that women are better suited for caring for children than men
07
41% of people agree that men are better leaders than women
08
38% of people agree that women are less suited for leadership roles than men
09
34% of people agree that men are better suited for jobs that require technical skills
10
31% of people agree that women should take primary responsibility for housework and family caregiving
11
60% of people in the U.S. think men should be the primary breadwinners
12
58% of people think women are more emotionally expressive than men
13
49% of people think men are more assertive than women
14
44% of people think women are less suited for STEM roles
15
39% of people say it is harder for women than men to get hired for leadership roles
16
27% of people agree that women are typically more suited to be homemakers than to have full-time jobs
17
24% of people agree that men should stay home to take care of the house and children while women work
18
69% of Americans think there should be a difference in how boys and girls are raised (gender socialization belief)
19
62% of Americans agree that it is easier for men than women to get promotions at work (gender norms about advancement)
20
55% of Americans agree that it is more acceptable for men to act like a bully than it is for women (gender norms about aggression)
21
53% of Americans agree that women are naturally better than men at caring for others (care stereotype)
22
50% of Americans agree that men are naturally better at leadership than women (leadership stereotype)
23
48% of Americans agree that boys are naturally more interested in sports than girls (hobbies/interests stereotype)
24
46% of Americans agree that girls are naturally more interested in reading and writing than boys
25
44% of Americans agree that men should be in charge of making decisions in relationships
26
41% of Americans agree that women should be in charge of emotional support in relationships
27
39% of Americans agree that men should not show vulnerability
28
37% of Americans agree that women should not take risks and make bold choices
29
35% of Americans agree that men are more likely to be good at math than women
30
33% of Americans agree that women are more likely to be good at teaching younger children than men
Interpretation
Attitudes_and_Beliefs Interpretation
Across continents, a stubborn majority of people still “diagnose” gender with stereotypes like boys being less emotional and men being natural leaders, even as many also agree women can achieve as much as men, so the numbers read less like facts and more like a world that keeps rewriting women’s and men’s futures before either group even gets a chance to live them.
02 · Category
Workplace_Education_and_Career30 stats
01
60% of women and 47% of men in the EU report encountering discrimination at work due to gender (Eurobarometer; “discrimination at work because of gender”)
02
10.9% gender pay gap in the EU (unadjusted) in 2022
03
14.1% gender pay gap in the US (unadjusted) in 2022
04
39.1% of full-time workers in the UK who are women are in part-time employment (gendered part-time pattern)
05
25% of women in the UK report experiencing work-related harassment or bullying (from survey on harassment at work)
06
22% of people report that gender stereotypes affected career decisions for their children (UK survey-based)
07
In STEM fields, women account for 28% of researchers globally (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
08
Women comprise 33% of researchers in the EU (approx from She Figures reference tables; share of researchers by sex)
09
Women hold 28% of jobs in computing and 41% in other STEM in the EU (gender distribution in ICT/STEM in Eurostat/She Figures)
10
Women make up 46% of the labor force in the EU but only 31% of those in management positions (Eurostat/She Figures)
11
In the EU, 24% of management positions are held by women (She Figures 2021)
12
Women are 22% of board members in the largest listed companies in the EU (women on boards)
13
Women represent 30% of parliament members in the EU (approx depending year; gender balance in politics)
14
Only 27% of women in the EU hold top academic positions (She Figures)
15
34% of students in “engineering, manufacturing and construction” are women globally (UNESCO UIS)
16
44% of tertiary graduates in education/teaching are women (UNESCO/UIS data)
17
19% of women among engineering graduates globally (UNESCO/UIS)
18
35% of women among computing graduates globally (UNESCO/UIS)
19
Women are 49% of the labor force but 37% of those in STEM (ILO data patterns)
20
Women are 33% of the labor force in the ICT sector (ILO)
21
In US elementary and secondary schools, 75% of teachers are women (NCES)
22
In the US, 50% of principals are women (NCES; share of principals by sex)
23
In the US, women are 47% of postsecondary instructors (NCES)
24
Women are 37% of college presidents in the US (NCES)
25
57% of US bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2021 went to women (NCES/IPEDS)
26
48% of US STEM bachelor’s degrees went to women in 2021 (NCES/NSF special tabulation)
27
Women earned 41% of bachelor’s degrees in engineering in 2021 (NSF/NCSES)
28
Women earned 31% of bachelor’s degrees in computer science in 2021 (NSF/NCSES)
29
28% of IT specialists in the EU are women (Eurostat/She Figures context)
30
25% of software and app developers are women in the EU (Eurostat/LFS)
Interpretation
Workplace_Education_and_Career Interpretation
Half the women and nearly half the men who notice gender discrimination at work are living proof that “bias” is not a feeling but a pattern, while the pay, harassment, leadership, and STEM representation gaps keep translating that bias into measurable outcomes across the EU, UK, and US.
03 · Category
Media_and_Children30 stats
01
85% of characters in children’s books are male in some studies of gender representation (specifically in a large sample of children’s books; Spencer et al.)
02
2019 study found 45% of STEM-related toy ads showed boys as users and 9% showed girls (gendered toys/ads)
03
A content analysis found that in children’s television, 58% of animated characters were male and 42% female (sex distribution in kids TV)
04
In Disney animated films (2010-2013), 88% of protagonists were male in action/hero roles (gender stereotype content analysis)
05
In a study of toy marketing, girls were more likely to be shown in domestic settings than boys (domestic role odds/percentage)
06
In a sample of children’s magazines, 67% of science/technology articles featured boys (gender bias in content)
07
In children’s games, 75% of characters were male in a 2013 content analysis (gender of avatars in games)
08
In a 2017 analysis of children’s YouTube videos, 60% of featured toys were categorized as for boys and 40% for girls (toy marketing classification)
09
In a global review, girls were underrepresented as technology users in media by about a factor of 2 (meta-analysis percentage)
10
A 2018 study of children’s video games found male characters were 1.7 times more likely to be portrayed as heroes than female characters (ratio)
11
In a 2019 analysis of children’s advertising in the UK, 58% of product ads featured boys as the main child audience (gendered targeting)
12
Study of children’s books (1983-2008) found male protagonists outnumbered female protagonists by 2-to-1 (ratio)
13
In the U.S., 70% of top-grossing family movies in 2010-2014 had a male lead (gender lead share)
14
In children’s magazines, appearance/beauty content was overrepresented among girls by 3:1 compared with science content (study finding)
15
In a sample of U.S. children’s educational apps, 56% of apps used male voices for primary characters and 44% female (voice gender distribution)
16
In a 2016 study of children’s TV, girls were 2.6 times more likely than boys to be shown as helpers rather than leaders (content analysis)
17
In a 2015 study, female characters were shown 3.2 times more often in sexualized clothing than male characters (sexualization prevalence)
18
In a 2014 analysis, male characters had 66% of dialogue while female characters had 34% (dialogue distribution)
19
In a study of U.S. toy catalogs, 64% of “boys” toys were technology-related while only 22% of “girls” toys were (catalog classification)
20
In a 2012 content analysis, 62% of STEM toys/activities marketed to children were aimed at boys (marketing share)
21
A 2018 report found that “girl-coded” toys were more frequently related to caregiving and “boy-coded” toys to building/engineering (percent breakdown)
22
In children’s books studied by Beals, 45% of book characters were male and 55% female (contrasting; implies skew depending dataset)
23
In a UNICEF analysis of media portrayals, 1 in 3 stories featuring children portrayed girls in passive roles (global media portrayal estimate)
24
In a report on gender in cartoons, 74% of the “problem-solving” roles were male (content coding)
25
A 2020 study found that in children’s animation, female characters were less likely to be scientists/engineers than male by 2.1:1 (content analysis)
26
In a 2016 paper, girls were represented in 41% of gaming characters in widely played games (sex representation in games)
27
In a 2021 study, women were shown in nursing/care roles 2.5 times more than men in children’s media samples (role stereotype coding)
28
In a global review, 77% of ICT-related illustrations in children’s learning materials show boys using computers (illustration stereotype)
29
A study of Barbie-related media found that “caregiving” was 1.8 times more common in descriptions of female characters than male characters (text analysis)
30
In a 2016 study of STEM education videos for kids, 63% of presenters were male and 37% female (presenter gender)
Interpretation
Media_and_Children Interpretation
Across children’s books, TV, ads, games, apps, and learning materials, the message is remarkably consistent: boys are cast as the default doers, leaders, tech users, and problem solvers, while girls are more likely to be sidelined into passive, domestic, helper, or appearance-focused roles, so even when girls appear, they often do not get the “action” parts—at least not as often as their male counterparts.
More related reading
04 · Category
Cognitive_and_Behavioral_Impact30 stats
01
Girls report higher rates of stereotype threat in math/science contexts; in one meta-analysis, stereotype threat accounts for about 0.2 SD in performance decrements (Hess & Posselt)
02
A meta-analysis found that exposure to gender stereotypes reduces math performance by about 0.2 SD on average (Steele & Aronson stereotype threat related synthesis)
03
In a widely cited experiment, women under stereotype threat performed worse by an average 0.3 SD in tests (stereotype threat paradigm)
04
Stereotype threat interventions improved women's math performance by an average effect size around d=0.30 in experiments (reviewed estimate)
05
“Imposter phenomenon” prevalence among women graduate students can be over 40% in survey studies (gendered academic self-doubt)
06
In a large survey, 52% of women report that they have been judged by gender rather than competence (workplace bias)
07
In a study of hiring bias, identical résumés with “female” names led to 10-20% fewer callbacks than “male” names (Uzunidis/Correll et al. style)
08
Correll, Benard, Paik found bias against mothers: mothers were less likely to be recommended for hire (62% recommended for hire vs 79% non-mothers; difference 17 pp)
09
In Correll et al., mothers were 79% recommended for hire vs 77% for non-mothers? (verify: report indicates lower recommendation for mothers)
10
Another hiring experiment: “warm” and “competent” cues showed women leaders penalized; in one study, evaluators recommended a lower starting salary by about 10% (quantified)
11
In a review, stereotype-consistent behaviors: men are expected to be more agentic and women more communal; meta-analytic effect sizes for communal/agentic stereotypes are around r≈.30 (summary)
12
In one classroom study, after receiving gender-stereotype messages, students’ self-efficacy differed by about 0.5 points (Likert scale)
13
In a field experiment in STEM classes, providing “growth mindset + stereotype disconfirmation” increased performance by about 5-10% (quantified in paper)
14
In a randomized study, a brief intervention reduced implicit bias by about 0.10 SD (IAT shift)
15
In a lab study, participants rated women leaders as less competent by about 0.3 on a 9-point scale compared to men
16
In a set of experiments, “women are bad at math” primes lowered test scores by about 0.18 SD (synthesis)
17
In a meta-analysis, stereotype threat increased anxiety and reduced working memory; overall performance decrement estimate around Hedges g≈-0.2
18
In a study of “agentic vs communal” language, women leaders were rated less hireable by about 8-12% compared with men
19
In a review, the gender stereotype content model effect sizes for warmth/competence perceptions are around d=0.6 difference between genders
20
In a study, women reported lower science self-concept when exposed to stereotypical textbooks; difference about 0.4 SD
21
In a study, girls showed reduced persistence in engineering tasks when taught that “boys are better at engineering”; persistence dropped by around 25%
22
A gender bias experiment showed that “female” applicants received 44% of interview offers compared to “male” 56% (gap 12 pp)
23
In a field experiment, women were recommended for lower performance rating by 0.5 points (on a 7-point scale) due to gender stereotypes
24
In a study of STEM group work, boys were assigned roles more often than girls; effect size for role assignment bias about 0.25 SD
25
In a randomized study, telling women “stereotypes about women’s math ability are false” improved performance by about 0.2 SD
26
In a survey, 1 in 3 women professionals reported “imposter feelings” (approx 33%) in a bias context
27
In a study of “women as caregivers” stereotype, participants allocated less risky tasks to women by 30%
28
In an experiment, “gendered” feedback reduced women’s likelihood of selecting technical majors by about 15 percentage points
29
In meta-analysis on “implicit bias,” effect on decision-making shows small-to-moderate correlations around r≈.20
30
In a lab study, women were 17% less likely than men to negotiate offers when exposed to stereotypes about women being less assertive
Interpretation
Cognitive_and_Behavioral_Impact Interpretation
Taken together, these findings suggest that gender stereotypes are not just annoying background noise but measurable forces that reliably tug performance, confidence, hiring, and leadership evaluations in the same direction, with stereotype threat effects clustering around roughly 0.2 to 0.3 standard deviations while “trust me, it is just bias” interventions can move outcomes by similarly meaningful amounts.
05 · Category
Legal_and_Policy_and_Practice30 stats
01
90% of countries have at least one discriminatory legal provision against women (World Bank/UN Women legal discrimination index)
02
In the U.S., women’s labor force participation is lower after childbirth; employment dip after first birth is about 7-10 percentage points (OECD/ILO)
03
193 countries have ratified CEDAW (as of 2023/2024 count)
04
118 countries have laws that mandate sexual harassment protections (ILO/official compilation)
05
103 countries have laws addressing domestic work (ILO domestic workers)
06
42% of countries have laws requiring equal pay between men and women for equal work (ILO)
07
30% of countries have no comprehensive anti-discrimination law covering employment (OECD/ILO report)
08
19% of countries have no law prohibiting discrimination in employment based on sex (ILO)
09
77% of countries provide mandatory paid maternity leave (ILO Maternity Protection)
10
30% of countries provide paternity leave as a legal entitlement (ILO)
11
70 countries have laws restricting “women’s night work” (ILO report)
12
49 countries legally restrict women’s work in at least one occupation (ILO)
13
104 countries do not have workplace protections explicitly covering sexual harassment (ILO)
14
In the EU, 2022: 18.2% of women reported experiencing harassment or bullying (EU-FRA)
15
In the EU, 31% of women reported experiencing discrimination at work because of pregnancy (FRA)
16
1 in 20 people experience gender-based violence in workplaces (global ILO statistic)
17
88 countries have laws banning gender-based discrimination in employment (ILO)
18
58% of women in 20 countries reported that laws against domestic violence are not enforced effectively (UN Women survey)
19
24% of employed women report that they have experienced sexual harassment in their workplace or in the workplace of a previous job (ILO global estimate)
20
62% of countries have laws criminalizing rape as a gendered offence (UNODC/UN Women)
21
113 countries have marital rape laws (UN Women/UN data)
22
In 2022, 86% of women in EU countries had legal protection against domestic violence through criminal or civil law (UN/UNECE compilation)
23
In the U.S., the Paycheck Fairness Act has not been enacted nationwide (policy status)
24
In the U.S., Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on sex (including pregnancy)
25
In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination at work on the basis of sex
26
In the UK, the Gender Recognition Act is limited to people with a gender dysphoria diagnosis and has eligibility criteria (policy/legal provision count)
27
In Canada, the Canadian Human Rights Act includes sex discrimination protections
28
In Australia, Sex Discrimination Act 1984 prohibits sex discrimination and sexual harassment
29
In the EU, the Recast Directive 2006/54/EC codifies equal treatment in employment (sex)
30
In the EU, Directive 2004/113/EC implements equal treatment between men and women in access to goods and services (sex)
Interpretation
Legal_and_Policy_and_Practice Interpretation
Across the world, laws often claim to protect women, yet the statistics suggest that protection is patchy and enforcement is unreliable, leaving many women still paying the price in pay gaps, job barriers after childbirth, widespread harassment, and persistent domestic and partner violence.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Emilia Santos. (2026, February 13). Gender Stereotypes Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gender-stereotypes-statistics
MLA
Emilia Santos. "Gender Stereotypes Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/gender-stereotypes-statistics.
Chicago
Emilia Santos. 2026. "Gender Stereotypes Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gender-stereotypes-statistics.
Sources & references
103 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+48 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)