GENDER ROLE STEREOTYPE PERCEPTION ON OCCUPATIONAL ROLES AMONG MALAYSIAN CHILDREN

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Acknowledgement
We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation and thanks to our supervisor Dr.
Angelo Maduli, you have been an incredible mentor. You tireless efforts in guiding us and
making sure that we stepped up each time are very much appreciated. There was never a day
when you greeted us with a tired-face, despite the tight schedule that you are on, and we are
most grateful for that. You inspired us each time we arrived at a dead end, just enough to
keep us going. Your guidance, in both the research journey as well the journey of life will
always be cherished. Thank you, Dr. A.
We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Ilaria Ciaramicoli, our lecturer; you have
been no less than a supervisor. We are most thankful for your support and encouragement
throughout the research. You guided us not only to become good researches but also showed
us the importance of balance and freedom in life.
We would also like to thank our senior lecturer, Mr Kumareshan Vartarajoo, who
pushed us to critically think of a meaningful, significant and relevant topic for our research.
A special thanks goes out to Mr Rahim Benrazavi who dedicated his time towards assisting
us in ironing out the critical details of this paper. Your guidance helped us present our
findings in a more systematic way.
We are also sincerely thankful to the families of the children who took part in this
research, who were so willing to allow their children to be a part of this research. Your
willingness, support, patience, kindness will never be forgotten. A very special thanks to our
families for giving us the opportunity to pursue higher studies. We would also like to thank
all of our friends who supported us in writing, and encouraged us to strive towards our goal
and also to those who have, in any way, directly or indirectly assisted us throughout this
journey.

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Abstract
Children base their future occupations on the experience that they gather along their lifespan
development. As such, this research aimed to study the gender role stereotype perception on
occupational role in children aged 9 to 13 years old. Twenty four children aged 9 to 13 years,
from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor participated in this study. Respondents were required to
complete two tasks in order to study whether gender role stereotype exist in them and also to
study the underlying factors that cause gender role stereotype in occupational role. A
qualitative method was adapted in this study in which respondents were asked to complete a
Gender-Occupation Matching test followed by an open-ended interview. The results
indicated that gender role stereotype does exist in children and there were several factors that
may have influenced children to become gender biased in perceiving occupational role. These
factors were parents, media, peers, school, reading materials and general exposure. The
findings of the present study also support findings of previous studies indicating that
children’s behavior and thought are shaped by the environment and the behavior of people
around them.
Keywords: children, gender role stereotype, occupational role

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements i
Abstract ii
Table of Contents iii
List of Tables and Charts v
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background of The Study 1
1.2 Statement of The Problem 2
1.3 Assumptions 3
1.4 Theoretical Framework 3
1.5 Conceptual Framework 6
1.6 Definition of Terms 7
Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature
2.1 Gender Role Stereotype 10
2.2 Occupational Roles 12
Chapter 3 Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design 17
3.2 Respondents 17
3.3 Setting and Locale 18
3.4 Instruments
3.4.1 Respondent Profile 19
3.4.2 Gender-Occupation Matching Test 19
3.4.3 Reinforcing Questions 21

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3.5 Procedures 21
3.6 Analysis 23
3.7 Summary 24
Chapter 4 Data Analysis and Findings
4.1 Introduction 25
4.2 Results
4.2.1 Respondent Profile 25
4.2.2 Gender-Occupation Matching Test 27
4.2.3 Reinforcing Questions 34
Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendation
5.1 Conclusion
5.1.1 Gender Role Stereotype 44
5.1.2 Gender Role Stereotype Perception on Occupational Roles 44
5.1.3 The Underlying Factors of Gender Role Stereotype 45
5.2 Limitations 46
5.3 Recommendations 47
References 48
Appendices
Proponents’ Curriculum Vitae

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List of Figures, Tables and Charts
Chart 1.1: Traditional masculine occupational roles perceive by respondents 29
Chart 1.2: Traditional feminine occupational roles perceive by respondents 30
Chart 1.3: Neutral occupational roles perceive by respondents 31
Table 1.1: Gender-Occupation Matching Test 32

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Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
Men are more than twice as likely as women to be employed in a computer and
mathematic occupation and more than 3 times as likely as women to be employed in an
occupation of architecture or engineering (Sherman and Zurbriggen, 2014). On the other
hand, women are more likely than men to be employed in a social service occupation, and 3
times as likely to be employed in educational, library, service, or personal care occupations
(Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014). The reasons for lack of men in certain occupations and lack
of women in other occupations are multiple; however the impact is possibly from gender role
socialization in which children learnt to follow the norms and behaviors that result in gender
role stereotype (Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014).
From the moment a child is born, it is immediately placed into the categories of either
male or female. From the categorization, the same child will then be influenced by their
society with regards to activities and behaviors that are appropriate between the two sexes. In
many instances, many parents tend to label gender roles, from the toys that they buy, toys the
children will wear, up to the colors of their room and stuff they will use. Research in the
recent years have highlighted that information of occupational gender role stereotypes is
present in children three years of age and it gradually increases with age (Martin & Little,
1990 as cited in de Caroli & Sagone, 2007).
A recent research conducted by Wilbour and Kee (2010) was designed to examine
gender role stereotypes in occupational roles in children between ages 8 and 9. The children
were presented with stereotypically matched and counter-stereotypically matched
occupational roles to female and male names, and were then analyzed based on a sentence
construction test and their memory recollection (Wilbour&Kee, 2010). These findings
pointed out that gender role stereotype was present mostly towards male non-stereotypical

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occupations such as Henry-Nurse, and less towards female non-stereotypical occupations
such as Mary-doctor.
The Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration is useful in understanding self-
concepts and occupational concepts, of which are compared to the limited career choice
alternatives and the compromise between the employment and preference realities
(Betz, 1994).This theory suggests how occupational aspirations develop during
pre-school up to one’s college years. The theory states that career development in children
occurs in four stages; 1) children grasp the concept of being an adult and is called orientation
to size and power (ages 3-5 years);2) children understand the concept of what gender they
belong to and is referred to as the orientation to sex roles (ages 6-8 years);3) their abilities
become important when determining of social behavior and expectations and is referred to as
the orientation to social valuation (9-13); and 4) adolescent identity crisis occur which is
referred to as orientation to the internal unique self (ages 14 and onwards). The same theory
significantly influenced the current research.
The purpose of this study is to further explore the research conducted by Wilbour and
Kee by examining gender role stereotypes in occupational roles among children belonging to
the orientation to social valuation stage – children who are of the ages 9 to 13 of
Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The aim of this study is to find out the possible influence of gender role perception on
male and female occupational roles in children.
Research of the recent years has indicated that gender role stereotype of occupational
role may have a negative impact on the development of children, and also distort their
concept of their future occupations. The consequence of gender role stereotype on

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occupational roles are said to be the contributing factors to the current occupational
segregation in the United States of America (Correll, 2004, as cited in Wilbour and Kee).
According to sociologist Ginzberg, an individual does not arrive at an ultimate decision from
a single moment of time but from the accumulation of a long period of time (Tzampazi,
Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013).As a result, gender role stereotype in children at any stage of
life can distort their development in the perception of occupational role as well as options of
occupations that they might have.
As the awareness of children on different occupations grows, they imagine
occupational choices, draw tentative inferences, and select occupations by assessing
themselves, and the environment which surrounds them (Ginzberg et al., 1951, as cited in
Sellers, Satcher& Comas, 1999). The environment that children are exposed to between the
ages 9 to 13 includes their parents, siblings, teachers, peers and media. This study intends to
answer the following questions:
1. What is gender role stereotype as perceived by children aged 9 to 13?
2. How do the respondents perceive occupational roles in terms of gender?
3. How do the respondents identify the gender related factor(s) that may have influenced
their perception of occupational role?
1.3 Assumptions
The researchers assume the following, that gender role stereotype does exist in
children. That gender role stereotype does impact and influence the occupational choices of
children. That there are external environmental factors that influence the children’s
perception on gender-based occupational roles.
1.4 Theoretical Framework
The social learning theory states that the influence of the environmental events
acquisition of behavior is greatly determined by cognitive processes which are based on prior

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experience and determine how they are perceived, whether they will be remembered, and
how they might affect future actions (Price &Archbold, 1994). According to Price and
Achbold (1995), these cognitive processes are formulated in how they are perceived, whether
they will be remembered, and how they might affect future action. Social learning theory
states that learning occurs either by reward and punishment for behavior, or by imitation of
behavior or observation of the behavior and the consequences that the behavior has (Krohn,
1999). A child’s behavior is shaped by behaviors of others, especially parents and teachers.
Children observe the behavior of men and women and then imitate them (Tzampazi, Kyridis
& Christodoulou, 2013). De Caroli and Sagone (2007) stated that children acquire gender-
type behavior as a response to environmental reinforcements and modeling. Children are
early influenced by the environment they are exposed to, including parents, teachers, peers,
and the media. This theory is used in the current study as a framework with the intentions of
finding out the underlying factors that cause gender stereotype in occupational roles. This
study will find out the influence of their surrounding on occupational roles.
The Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration is useful in understanding self-
concept and occupational concepts which are compared as to the limited career choices
alternatives and the compromise between the employment and preference realities (Betz,
1994).This theory suggests how occupational aspirations develop during the preschool
through the college years. Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration is the most
recent theory concerning the career development concerning childhood (Sellers, Satcher, &
Comas, 1999). The major vocational elements which are elements, intelligence, social class
background, values, vocational interests, and competencies, are all merged into one’s self-
concept at different stages of cognitive development as one’s self-concept and world view
which becomes more complex and becomes more different (Gottfredson, 1981). The theory
states the career development in children occurs in four stages. The first stage of the

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development is the “orientation to size and power (ages 3-5 years), in this stage children
grasp the concept of being an adult. The second stage of the development is the “orientation
to sex roles (ages 6-8 years), in which children understand the concept of what gender they
belong to. When the children enter the third stage of development, “orientation to social
valuation” (9-13), they develop an increase abstract of self-concept of social class and their
abilities become important when determining of social behavior and expectations
(Gottfredson, 1981). The final stage of development is the “orientation to the internal, unique
self (ages 14 and onwards), this stage is often mentioned when discussing adolescent identity
crisis.
A study in which the authors used the Gottfredson’s theory as a framework for the
purpose that the school counselors can conceptualize the school failure among Latino youth
and figure out developmental, contextual, and culturally sensitive interventions so improve
the Latino student’s academic and career success (Ivers, Milsom, & Newsome, 2012). In
another study the Gottfredson’s theory of career circumscription and compromise was
examined with Asian American college students. Analyses showed that there were changes in
occupational sex type and prestige from early years and into adolescent life periods (Leung,
1993).
In this study the impact of the gender stereotype in children that fall within the third
stage of Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration; orientation to social valuation
(ages 9-13), will be found out. On the third stage of Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational
Aspiration, children are able to comprehend the socioeconomically significant differences
among people and jobs, and how important they are to adult (Gottfredson&Lapan, 1997).
Also children of this stage score higher in vocational maturity (Gottfredson&Lapan, 1997).
There has been an amount of research done using the Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational

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this stage children work hard both at home and school to attain praise and satisfaction from
the successful completion of a task (Schultz & Schultz, 2009).
Social factor are seen as the source of developmental influence that initiate a child
into a certain perception which in this case the gender-based roles which will eventually
might become their basis to differentiate occupational roles in terms of male or female.
Gender role stereotype can be identified in many factors and occupational roles
perception is seemingly one of those factors within the wider context of gender role
stereotype. Occupational roles in this study are categorized into masculine traditional
occupations, feminine traditional occupations, and neutral occupations. A child’s perception
on occupational aspirations changes over time with the help of gender stereotype. At this age
gender role stereotype in children can disrupt their development when perceiving
occupational roles, this might influence their choices and limit their options. Occupational
roles and gender role stereotype lie within the context of social factors in which the
environment these children aged 9 to 13 are exposed to. These social factors include parents,
peers, reading materials, media, and general experiences.
1.6 Definition of Terms
Gender Role Stereotype Gender is a description of some of the most basic
characteristics of humans (Pryzgoda and Chrisler, 2000). It usually refers to social,
psychological, and behavioral characteristics of men and women (Pryzgoda&Chrisler, 2000),
particularly referring to of non-physiological components of sex that are culturally regarded
as appropriate for males or females (Unger, 1976).According to Unger (1976), gender is a
social label in which two groups of people are distinguished.
Stereotype refers to the generalization of groups that are applied to individual group
members because they belong to the particular group, while gender stereotype refers to the
generalizations made about the attributes of men and women (Heilman, 2012). Gender role

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stereotype occur when an individual has to follow a series of norms, practices, or behaviors
because of their gender, in other words, gender role stereotypes are powerful moderates of
behavior (Scantlebury, 2009).
For the purpose of this study, the gender role stereotype is defined as the belief and
attitude an individual has about characteristics, and activities that are appropriate for the
respective male and female genders. There are toys, career choices, academic achievements,
hobbies, etc., that are expected of men or women, and those are the ones that are seen as
appropriate for the sexes respectively.
Occupational Role Occupational role is a set of behaviors that are linked to social
norms that allows an individual to organize and accommodate their time for work, play,
social activities, rest, and leisure (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2014). Examples of occupational
roles are student, worker, spouse, and caregiver (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2014).
For the purpose of this research, occupational roles represent the everyday job titles
and roles of adults such as doctor, engineer, nurse, teacher and homemaker. There are female
traditional occupational roles (teacher, fashion designer, florist, hair dresser, nurse, secretary
and baby-sitter), male traditional roles (astronaut, pilot, doctor, solider, police, fire fighter,
and mechanic) and neutral traditional roles (dentist, chef, journalist, singer, and artist).
Perception Perception is the awareness of the elements of the environment through
physical sensations such as color, and these physical perceptions could also be interpreted in
the light of experience (Perception, 2012). Perception is what a person thinks to be true, and
is the truth in their mind which leads to their decision being based on that (Potgieter, 2011).
Potgieter (2011) also believes that perception is based on each individual’s reality, whether
an individual sees that the world is full of obstacles or is surrounded by choices.
For the purpose of this study, perception indicates the results of the thought process of
the children who will be taking part in the study. Perception indicates how these children

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observe the occupational roles of people around them and internalize these roles before
projecting them through their speech and actions.

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Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature
2.1 Gender Role Stereotype
Children try to make sense of their surrounding which they do by using gender cues
that are provided to them by society to help them interpret what they see and what they hear
(Martin &Ruble, 2004). According to Martin and Ruble (2004), one must understand the
developmental changes of gender which may be accounted for by children’s cognitive
abilities and their evolving understanding of concepts. These developmental changes bring
out the relative strength of children’s gender-related beliefs and behaviors are predicted to
decline. Additionally, evidence suggests that gender stereotyping shows a developmental
pattern that can be categorized into three phases; first, during the toddler and preschool years
children begin to learn about gender related characteristics, second, children between the ages
5 and 7 acquire new gender knowledge in which it reaches its peak of rigidity, lastly, a phase
of relative flexibility occur (Trautner et al., 2003). Children learn at an early age what it
means to be a boy or a girl. Children start to understand the concept of gender identity by the
time they are 2 years, and they know if they are a boy or a girl by the age of 3 (Martin
&Ruble, 2004). When children reach the ages between 3 and 5 they begin to understand what
it means to be a male or a female (Aina& Cameron, 2011). By the age of 5, children develop
configuration of gender stereotype that they apply to themselves and others (Martin &Ruble,
2004).
Children ought to be brought up in a society that does not stereotype gender or gender
roles. As such, children will be able to attain knowledge, skills and abilities based on their
individual choices without being tied down to stereotypical roles and rules set by the society.
However, research in the recent years have highlighted that information of occupational
gender stereotypes is present in children 3 years in age and increases gradually with age
(Martin & Little, 1990 as cited in de Caroli & Sagone, 2007). As a result, children are said to

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have gender stereotype on choice of toys, sociocognitive as well as occupation
(Caroli&Sagone, 2007).
Children learn according to the information they receive from their surroundings, it
generally comes to the child from the parent-child interaction, reinforcement for desired
behavior, parental approval or disapproval, and role modelling (Witt, 1997). Adult’s may
influence the gender role development in children, and may learn about gender stereotype
through direct exposure to adult’s stereotype (Martin, 1995). Children may come to behave
according to gender-typed labels that have been attributed to them by the influence of adult’s
attributions through behavioral confirmation of expectation (Martin, 1995). Besides that,
peers also play an important role as communicators of sex-role norms (Kessels, 2005). A
study by Egan & Perry (2001) on 64 children which required to children to name their
favorite activity while they were alone and once more when their peers were around. The
findings of this study showed that their answer were more gender typical when their peers
were around. In addition, a study conducted by McGhee and Frueh (1980) on children
between ages 6 to 13 found that heavy television viewers (children who spent 25 or more
hours for television per week) reported higher gender role stereotype as compared to light
television viewers (children who spent 10 or less hours for television per week). This study
indicated that media have an influence on children gender role stereotype.
There are a wide number of researches that have been conducted on gender role
stereotype on choices of toys, academic achievements, hobby choices, etc. However, there is
limited research on gender role stereotype on occupational role among children. The few
studies that were found indicate that the knowledge of occupational gender stereotype is
present in children as young as 3 years of age, and seems to increases with age (Martin &
Little, 1990 as cited in de Caroli & Sagone, 2007). Children also continue to strive for gender
typed occupations, because they receive a positive affective reaction by doing so (Caroli &

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Sagone, 2007). In a study which examined the occupational aspirations of 4-and-5-year-old
children, the researchers categorized the participants’ responses as female, male, or neutral.
The results for this study showed that; there was an early bias association with identifying the
same gender adult, while males aspired to more gender-typed fields, girls chose evenly
between female, male, and neutral occupations, and when the children were asked to rule out
occupations that they would not want, both girls and boys rejected the traditional female
occupations than male and neutral occupations (Care, Denas, &Brown, 2007). In another
study conducted on preschoolers and primary school children, the researchers intended to
find out the children’s perception on how much money men and women earn in gender typed
occupation. It turned out that children viewed men to be more competent than women in
masculine occupations and that they earned more money than women in those occupations,
and that women are more competent in feminine occupations and that women earned more
money than men in those occupations (Levy, Sadovsky & Troseth, 2000)
This study focuses on gender role stereotype on occupational roles among children
within the orientation to social valuation stage of the ages 9 to 13. Parents, media, and
teachers influence children’s career aspirations, it is important to note that children are also
influenced by their parents’ socio-economic status, and educational background (Tzampazi,
Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013). In the orientation to social valuation stage, children’s career
preference evolves and they become aware of social status which leads them to view less
prestigious occupation negatively (Teig & Susskind, 2008).
2.2 Occupational Roles
There are many factors such as family, society and school that may contribute to the
influence of children’ future career choices. However, gender is the main factor in shaping
children’ preferences of future occupational aspirations. A study conducted by Wilbourn and

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Kee (2010), explored whether children’s occupational stereotypes were less restrictive
towards females engaged in counter-stereotypic occupations compared to males engaged in
counter-stereotypic occupations (Wilbourn & Kee, 2010). Their participants were aged 8 to 9
years old that were presented with stereotypic male and female names paired with masculine
and feminine occupations and they were asked to create sentences using the name-occupation
pairs. The findings of this study showed that children’s gender role stereotypes were stricter
towards males than they were for females (Wilbourn & Kee, 2010).
A study on career choice of primary school children found that, boys tend to choose
traditional masculine jobs(such as fire fighter, scientist, doctor) while girls tend to choose
traditional feminine jobs (such as teacher, dancer, hairdresser). This study suggested that
children tend to present high gender stereotype in career choices (Miller & Budd, 1999). A
survey of 506 female teenagers between the ages13 to 18 years old in UK found that 32% of
them wanted to be models; 29% of them wanted to be actress, whereas only 4% of them
wanted to be engineers. Moreover, participants in this survey reported that science is always
associated with masculinity, which in other words they believe that science is a field for
males (Gould, 2008). A study of 150 children (78 boys and 72 girls) found that 44.7% of
boys chose traditional male occupation as their future career while 33.3% of girls chose
traditional female occupation as their future career. At the same time, only 10% of the
children chose occupations which traditionally belong to the opposite gender (Tzampazi,
Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013). Another study of 136 children (68 girls and 68 boys) aged
between 8 to 12 years in Italy found that children tend to classify occupations which required
more physical energy such as mechanic, fireman and truck driver as male-occupation,
whereas, the participants classified domestic types of occupation such as baby sitters, maid
and teacher as female-occupations. This study suggested that children tend to have high
gender stereotypes in choice of occupations (De Caroli & Sagone, 2007).

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Although many researchers have reported that young children tend to have high
gender stereotype in choosing future career, other researchers indicated that children tend to
decrease their level of gender role stereotype in career choices as they grow older (Miller &
Budd, 1999).
Family relationships
Parents in particular, play an important role in children’s future career choices. A
study of children’s preference of future occupational aspiration found that children tend to
choose the career of their parents or their relatives (Tzampazi, Kyridis & Christodoulou,
2013). The same study also found that children whose fathers’ hold a university education
are more likely to choose traditional occupation based on their gender which indicates that
parents’ educational background could affect children in career choices (Tzampazi, Kyridis &
Christodoulou, 2013). Besides that, parents’ expectations also contribute in shaping
children’s future career choices. Studies have shown that working class parents are more
likely to have higher expectation towards their children, for them to gain a better job than the
occupations they have themselves (Irwin, Sarah & Elley, 2013). However, these studies may
not be able to draw a definite relationship between family and children’ future career choices,
because their choices may be affect by their limited knowledge towards different
occupations.
Toys
Additionally, studies have shown that toys are also a contribution in shaping children’
future career choices. A study of 45 girls who aged 4 to 7 years old found that girls who play
with Barbie dolls reported to have lesser career options in the future for themselves, but more
career options for boys. Besides that, the same study also found that girls who played with
control doll (Mrs. Potato Head) reported the similar amount of possible future careers for
themselves as they reported for boys, therefore, it was concluded in the research that toys

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that children play with have a significant impact on their perception of the possible future
career choices. This study suggested that girls who exposed to sexualized toys (Barbie)
decrease their perception of career possibilities for themselves. In other words, sexualization
exposure may impose limits on children (Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014). However, the
sample size in this study was small; therefore the result of this study may not be able to
generalize to a large population.
School education
Another factor that contributes to shaping children’s future career choices is school
education. For example, girls are always expected to perform badly in mathematics. A
research on 247 elementary children aged 6 to 10 years old found that children as young as
second grade reported that “math is for boys”. This study suggested that math-gender
stereotype in school may limit the ability for girls in mathematics which may affect their
future career choices (Cvencek, Meltzoff & Greenwald, 2011). However, math-gender
stereotypes in school may not be the main factor to affect girls’ career choices, but they may
affect other factor such as self-interest or parents expectation. Besides that, reading materials
such as textbooks, storybooks and others have an influence on perception towards
occupational role. A longitudinal study on Zimbabwean girls from age 9 to 12 found that,
girls who were exposed to gender-atypical storybook for a longer duration were noted to have
changed their career plans from gender-typical occupations to gender-atypical occupations.
Whereas this change was noted to be much lesser among girls who were not exposed gender-
atypical storybooks (Nhundu, 2007). Another research conducted on 9 and 10 year old
children found that children were more likely to perceive females to participate in gender-
atypical activities after they read storybooks with the female protagonists in gender-atypical
activities (Scott & Feldman-Summers, 1979). A recent study indicated that the number of
occupations that children believe is appropriate for women, increased after those children

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were exposed to a storybook with female protagonists in atypical gender roles (Karniol &
Gal-Disegni, 2009).
Therefore, our current study will take in all these factors into consideration in order to
study whether these factors contribute to affecting the future career choices of the participants
in our study.

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Chapter 3 Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design
The design of this research was mainly qualitative. There were three parts to the
research; respondent profiling, gender-occupation matching test and a follow-up interview.
A qualitative research method, according to Creswell (2003) is best applied for
researchers to obtain a better understanding of human behavior, experiences and opinions. A
qualitative method is frequently used by researchers to study the “how” and “why” of current
phenomenon in real life setting (Yin, 1993). Since this research seeks to understand how
children identify with the gender related factors that may influence their perception of
occupational role and how much influence they think gender related factors may affect their
future choice of occupation, it is best to adapt to the qualitative research method, which will
allow researchers to obtain more detail and rich information. Additionally, Kvale (1996)
explains that interviews are a great way to understand the meaning of the experiences of the
respondents from their perspective.
According to Patton (1990) “Qualitative data can put flesh on the bones of quantitative
results, bringing results to life through in-depth case elaboration” (p. 132) and thus can play a
significant role in bringing out the best in a research. Since the research seeks to answer both
prevalence as well as factors which influence these results, a hybrid method of combining
qualitative and quantitative methods, would be able to elicit a comprehensive understanding
of both variables.
3.2 Respondents
A random sample of 24 respondents aged between 9 to 13 years was selected from
Kuala Lumpur and Selangor area in Malaysia. Out of the 24 respondents in the study, 16
were female and 8 were male. The respondents were selected based on a convenience
sampling method. The respondents had a general grasp and understanding of spoken and

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written English and Bahasa Malaysia language (both languages are compulsory in public and
private schools) with some having a stronger understanding and dominant usage of one
language above the other.
Since the respondents involved in this study were below the legal age in Malaysia
(below 18) to consent for themselves, an informed consent form and brief description about
this study was provided to the parents or guardians of the respondents to ensure that they
fully understand the process of this study. The informed consent, an agreement for
respondents to participate in a particular study voluntarily (Li, 2004) served as a verification
of the willingness of the parents and respondents to participate in the study and to validate
their understanding of the nature of the study. Their rights in the study, the process of the
study, as well as the benefits and risk of the study were made clear to tell as part of the
informed consent. Additionally, a brief verbal explanation of the aim and objective of the
study was carefully conveyed to the parents or caretakers of the respondents.
3.3 Setting and Locale
This study was conducted within the area of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in Malaysia.
The respondents of the study typically hailed from a medium to high socioeconomic status
(SES) class and were students of either public school or private institutions within the area.
3.4 Instruments
The main instrument in current study was Gender-Occupation matching test which
adapted from study conducted by De Caroli and Sagone (2007). The research by De Caroli
and Sagone aimed to study endorsement of gender stereotypes regarding toys, occupations
and sociocognitive traits in a sample of 136 Italian children aged 8 to 12 years old. In the
research conducted by De Caroli and Sagone, the occupations that were chosen selected cards
reflected traditionally masculine occupations, traditionally feminine occupations and neutral
occupations.

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3.4.1 Respondent Profile
The respondent profile consisted of an interview that comprised of open ended
questions as attached in the appendix. The respondent profile was aimed at attaining
information about the respondents understanding of the occupational roles held by their
family members (such as parents and siblings) and occupational ambitions of family and
children of their ages (such as siblings and close friends). (See appendix 2)
3.4.2 Gender-Occupation Matching Test
The Gender-Occupation Matching Test was adapted from the study conducted by De
Caroli and Sagone (2007). In the adaptation process, several changes were made to the list of
occupations to suit the understanding level, cultural context and occupation exposure of
Malaysian participants. Occupations such as ‘Mason’ and ‘Confectioner’ which are
occupations more recognized in the West were eliminated and replaced with occupations that
are more recognized in Malaysian contexts. Also occupations that ends with “man” such as
postman was eliminated and replaced by ‘Solider’, and ‘Policeman’ was replaced by simply
‘Police’.
For the purpose of this study, 14 cards of traditionally masculine occupations (2 of
each listen occupation), 14 cards of traditionally feminine occupations (2 of each listen
occupation) and 10 cards of neutral occupations (2 of each listen occupation) were used.
Traditional masculine occupational roles for this research are listed as below:
 Astronaut - going to the moon
 Pilot - flying the airplane
 Doctor - treating sick patients
 Mechanic - repairing cars
 Solider – defend country

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 Fire fighter - putting out fire
 Police - catching thieves
Traditional feminine occupational roles for this research are listed as below:
 Teacher - teaching at schools and tuitions
 Nurse - caring for patients at hospitals
 Fashion designer - designing and making clothes
 Hair dresser - cutting and styling hair
 Baby-sitter - taking care of children
 Secretary - making appointments
 Florist – sell flowers
Neutral occupational roles for this research are listed as below:
 Dentist - fixing teeth
 Singer - singing songs
 Painter - painting pictures
 Journalist - writing in newspaper
 Chef - cooking at restaurants
All of the above listed occupations were tested in a test pre-test that was carried out prior
to the research to determine the baseline knowledge of children in Malaysian on the 19
chosen occupations for this research. The results of the pre-test were used to alter the list of
occupations accordingly; to keep the familiar occupations and to eliminate the unfamiliar
ones.
The name the 19 different occupations were printed out on a 21 by 6 cm white colored
paper in black-colored font. This is to reduce the chances of color becoming the confounding
variable. Past researches have indicated that color plays a significant role in altering the mood
and decisions of children. A study of 98 Jewish boys and girls who aged from 4 to 8 years old

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found that girls are most likely to choose the pink color booklet while boys are most likely to
choose the blue color booklet. The same study also found that boys and girls tended not to
use pink color to color the male characters in the booklet (Karniol, 2011). Therefore, this
research attempted to eliminate the possibility of color influencing the decision and reasoning
of the respondents by using neutral colors.
3.4.3 Reinforcing Questions
In the final step of the research, qualitative open-ended questions were designed. The re-
enforcing questions were used to elicit deeper response from the respondents about how they
identify the gender related factor that may influence their perception of occupational role
qualify their choices.
Sample of the reinforcing questions:
1. Why do you put (certain) job to (certain) gender?
2. Why do you think is it meant for that and not for the other one?
3. Is there anyone or anything that influence you to think that way?
4. Where did you learn this from?
3.5 Procedures
At the beginning of the session, informed consent was given to the parents or
caretakers of the respondents to ensure that they know their rights and are willing to
participate in this study. Each of the respondents was told that he or she will have to
complete three steps in the study; first step in the study consisted of an interview
(respondents profile); the second step of the study consisted of Gender-Occupations matching
test and the third step in the study was a thorough qualitative interview with reinforcing
questions.
In the respondent profile, respondent were required to answer few open-ended
questions. These open-ended questions in the interview were intended to elicit the

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experiences of the respondents from their perspective of occupational roles. Answers drawn
from the interview would be able to explain what the children understand of occupational
roles and how they see themselves in the context of occupational roles (through their
ambitions).
In Gender-Occupation Match Test, ‘Julie’ (female name) and ‘Peter’ (male name)
were written on a piece of paper and placed on the table, facing the respondents. The reason
for using these two names was because they are non-cultural biased typical male and female
name, instead of just plainly writing ‘female’ and ‘male’ on a piece of paper was so that they
identify with the character and so that they are not lead on by the researcher. Then each
respondent were given a set of 38 cards with 19 different occupations. The reason why they
were given 2 of each occupation is so that they have the opportunity to place the cards of one
occupation such as ‘policeman’ on both the female and male names should they think that the
occupation is subjected to both gender. The giving of 2 cards per occupation is also to
eliminate the bias that may occur if they have one card of each occupation. Should they be
given only one card, they may think that the occupational roles fits both male and female
gender, but be inclined to place it at one gender because they have a limited number of cards.
Therefore the 2 cards per occupation are to eliminate any form of bias.
The respondents were asked to classify regarding who would be more likely to work
as a given job (for example, who would be more likely to be baby-sitter?). Then the
respondents were required to assign the 38 cards to either the card of female character or the
card of male character. However, if respondents perceive certain occupation as neutral
occupation (available for both gender), they were required to assign the cards to both side. To
ensure that every participant understands each of the occupation, there was a brief description
of each occupation session before this task.

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In the final step of the study, 24 respondents were asked a list of open-ended
reinforcing questions based on the results of the Gender-Occupation matching test.
Following the last step of the study, there was a de-brief session in which the
respondents were told that the task and interview do not in any way indicate that the
occupational roles are tied or associated to the gender and that it was merely an activity. This
is to make sure that the respondents do not build a stereotypic perception of occupational
roles based on gender as a result of the task and interview.
3.6 Analysis
The examination of the result in the Gender-Occupation Matching Test was carried
out by noting down the respondent’s occupation matching to the two genders- female and
male. Neutral occupations matching were also recorded. Once the response from 24
respondents is obtained, a pattern of occupational role stereotype based on female and male
segregation was drawn out. If a respondent places an occupation only on either the female or
male name, a presence of gender role stereotype on that particular role was recorded for that
respondent. An analysis of the accumulated response would create a pattern of which
occupational roles have the most amount of gender role stereotype (female/male) and which
occupational roles are without gender role stereotype (neutral). Based on these patterns, it
determined which occupational roles are subjected to most amounts of gender stereotype and
how the respondents have perceived occupational roles in terms to gender.
In the final step of the study, the response of the respondents was analyzed by using
thematic analyses. Thematic analyses tended to describe and identify both explicit and
implicit ideas within a data. This type of method of analysis are very useful in qualitative
research especially researchers in current study used open-ended questions which may
receive complex and vary responses from the respondents. Thematic analyses could help
researchers to capture the complexities of the meaning within a textual data by using codes.

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Codes are developed to represent the certain pattern of responses and then applied or linked
to raw data for later analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
The findings were validated through a respondent comparing method, in which the
results were compared between respondents to make sure that there are no outlier results.
3.7 Summary
The researchers used a quantitative method and qualitative method in this current
study to be able to understand what gender role stereotype is, as perceived by children
between the ages 9 to 13. The hybrid of both methods is important to find out the prevalence
level and pattern of occupational role stereotype based on gender and to be able to understand
the underlying and gender related factors that may influence the perception of the
respondents. In the first stage, there were a profiling and a gender-occupation matching test
and in the second stage, a detail and in-depth interview was conducted to elicit rich data.

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Chapter 4 Data Analysis and Findings
4.1 Introduction
As the awareness of children about occupation grows, they imagine occupational
choices, draw tentative inferences, and select occupations by assessing oneself and the
environment around them (Ginzberg et al., 1951 as cited in Sellers, Satcher & Comas, 1999).
The environment that children are exposed to between the ages 10 to 12 include parents,
siblings, teachers, peers and media. This study, therefore intends to investigate the underlying
factors that cause gender stereotype in occupational role. This study also intends to answer
the following questions:
1. What is gender role stereotype as perceived by children aged 9 to 13?
2. How do the respondents perceive occupational roles in terms to gender?
3. How do the respondents identify the gender related factor that may influence their
perception of occupational role qualify their choices?
4.2 Results
4.2.1 Respondent Profile
In answering the first research question which is: what is gender role stereotype as
perceived by children aged 9 to 13? It was found that children in this age category had
perceived gender role stereotype through their division of male traits and female traits.
For instance, respondents who had learnt that boys were strong and brave had linked
those gender role stereotypes to an occupation which they believe require strength. One such
example by a respondent was that pilots’ working hours are long and require immense
determination and strength. Therefore the respondent matched his previous learnt gender role
stereotype to the requirements of a pilot, and indicated that only boys can become pilots. The
respondent’s response was:

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“Pilots are required to be strong because they need to stay awake for a long time. And
if they need to stay awake for a long time, then need to be strong and boys are strong.
Girls cannot stay awake at night.”
In another example, a respondent had said that girls are not fit to become firefighter
and linked it their being weak:
“The machines that the firefighters need to carry are very heavy and for that you need
to be strong and so girls cannot carry those machines because they are not as strong as
boys.”
Common words used by respondents to support their perception towards masculine
occupations were dangerous, strong, brave, fast, smart, rough and simple dressing. These
words were used by both female and male respondents to support their perception towards
what they thought were male-occupations
Many respondents who had indicated that only girls can become nurses and baby-
sitters (both feminine-typical-occupations) had responded in linking the female stereotypical
role of being caring and gentle to the occupation. The respondents who perceived it such
were both boys and girls.
“Nurses need to care and be gentle with patients. They cannot be rough. Girls are
caring and gentle and they treat the patients very well.”
“Baby-sitter need to care for children and take them to the park and change them and
feed them. Boys are too rough, only girls can care for children.”
Common words used by respondents to support their perception towards feminine
occupations were girl’s job, gentle, like to dress up, like flower, creative, dependent, patient,

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caring, careful and soft. These words were used by both female and male respondents to
support their perception towards what they thought were female-occupations.
This indicates that children did in deed have a stereotypical perception on gender, in
which they had aligned traits that they perceived were more feminine and traits that they
believed were more masculine. In a related study done on preschoolers and primary school
children, the researchers wanted to find out the children’s perception on how gender role
stereotype of how much money men and women earn in gender typed occupation. It turned
out that children viewed men to be more competent than women in masculine occupations
and that they earned more money than women in those occupations, and that women are more
competent in feminine occupations and that women earned more money than men in those
occupations (Levy, Sadovsky and Troseth, 2000) clearly indicating that children had a
stereotyped perception on gender.
Such learnt stereotype may have influenced them to make connection with
occupational requirements.
4.2.2 Gender-Occupation Matching Test
This instrument was designed to answers the second research question which is: how
do the respondents perceive occupational roles in terms to gender?
Through the gender-occupation matching test, it was found that, in the attribution of
19 different occupations, respondents showed gender role stereotyped on occupational roles,
in which:
1. Four out of seven traditionally masculine occupations assessed by respondents were
perceived as male-based occupation by the respondents. (See table 1)
Occupations that respondents perceived as male-based occupations include fire-
fighter (nM=13; female respondents=9, male respondents= 4); mechanic (nM=16;

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female respondents =10, male respondents =6); pilot (nM=13; female respondents =9,
male respondents =4) and soldier (nM=13; female respondents =8, male respondents
= 5) (See Chart 1).
2. Three out of seven traditionally feminine occupations assessed by respondents were
perceived as female-based occupations. (See table 1)
Occupations that respondents perceived as female-based occupations included baby-
sitter (nF=22, female=15 vs. male=7); florist (nF=15, female=11 vs. male=4) and
nurse (nF=21, female=16 vs. male= 5) (See Chart 2).
3. Respondents also perceived the following occupations in a neutral outlook in which
they perceived these occupations to be for both females and males. Both female-and-
male-based occupations, as perceived by the respondents included doctor, singer,
teacher, chef, dentist and journalist. The results were indicated as doctor
(nN=23;female respondents=15, male=8); singer (nN=23; female respondents=15,
male respondents=8); teacher (nN=22; female respondents=15,male respondents= 7)
;chef (nN=22;female respondents=14,male respondents =8); dentist (nN=21;female
respondents=13,male respondents=8)and journalist (nN=20;female respondents=14,
male respondents=4) (See Chart 3).
nM is the number of respondents who perceived an occupation as a male-based occupation
(an occupation that only males can do).
nF is the number of respondents who perceived an occupation as a female-based occupation
(an occupation that only females can do)
nN is the number of respondents who perceived an occupation as a neutral-based occupation
(an occupation that both females and males can do).

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Chart 1.1
Chart 1.1: Traditional masculine occupational roles as perceived by respondents
13
16
13 13
1
10
5
0 0 0 0 0
1
0
11
8
11 11
23
13
19
F I R E ‐
F I G H T E R
M E C H A N I C P I L O T SO L D I E R D O C T O R A S T R O N A U T P O L I C E
TRADITIONAL MASCULINE
OCCUPATIONAL ROLES
Male‐based occupations Female‐based occupations Male‐ and Female‐ based occupations

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Chart 1.2
Chart 1.2 Traditional feminine occupational roles as perceived by respondents
0 0 0 0 0
5
0
2
21
11
9
22
5
15
22
3
13
15
2
14
9
T E A C H E R N U R S E H A I R‐
D R E S S E R
F A S H I O N ‐
D E S I G N E R
BABY ‐ S I T T E R SE C R E T A T Y F L O R I S T
TRADITIONAL FEMININE
OCCUPATIONAL ROLES
Male‐based occupations Female‐based occupations Male‐ and Female‐based occupations

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Chart 1.3
Chart 1.3: Neutral occupational roles as perceived by respondents
2 2
3
2
1
0
1 1
3
0
22
21
20
19
23
C H E F D E N T I S T JO U R N A L I S T P A I N T E R S I N G E R
NEUTRAL OCCUPATIONAL ROLES
Male‐based occupations Female‐based occupations Male‐ and Female‐based occupations

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Table 1.1
Gender-Occupation Matching Test (N=24, female=16, male=8)
Occupations as Perceived by Respondents as:
Male & Female Based Female Based Male Based
Occupations Occupations Occupations
Respondents: Male Female Male Female Male Female
Occupations:
Astronaut 4 9 0 1 4 6
Baby-sitter 1 1 7 15 0 0
Chef 8 14 0 0 0 2
Dentist 8 13 0 1 0 2
Doctor 8 15 0 0 0 1
Fashion Designer 4 11 4 5 0 0
Florist 4 5 4 11 0 0
Fire-fighter 4 7 0 0 4 9
Hair-dresser 3 10 5 6 0 0
Journalist 6 14 0 1 2 1
Mechanic 2 6 0 0 6 10
Nurse 2 1 6 15 0 0
Painter 8 11 0 3 0 2
Pilot 4 7 0 0 4 9
Police 4 15 0 0 4 1
Secretary 5 9 1 4 2 3
Singer 8 15 0 0 0 1
Soldier 3 8 0 0 5 8
Teacher 7 15 1 1 0 0
Note: 1) Female-based occupation means respondents perceived that occupation only for female.
2) Male-based occupation means respondents perceived that occupation only for male.
3) Female- and male-based occupation mean respondents perceived that occupation for both female and male.

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In the seven traditionally masculine occupations, the findings indicted that more
female respondents had perceived the occupation to be a male-based occupation, pointing out
that females had shown more gender role stereotype on masculine occupations. It was the
female respondents who classified that only men could do masculine occupations and that
females could not. A previous research which suggested that primary school children tend to
present high gender stereotype in career choices found that, boys tend to choose traditional
masculine jobs(such as fire fighter, scientist, doctor) while girls tend to choose traditional
feminine jobs (such as teacher, dancer, hairdresser) (Miller & Budd, 1999). The current study
supports the findings of the previous study in indicating that females indeed tend to choose
traditionally females jobs. However, the additional finding of this study is that females tend
to have more stereotyped perception against females doing traditionally masculine
occupations.
The current study also yielded results that female respondents were more inclined to
perceive that only females should do feminine occupations as compared to male respondents
perceiving that only males should do masculine occupation. The results of this study slightly
opposing the results of a study of 150 children (78 boys and 72 girls) which found that boys
tend to choose gender-traditional occupation (boys choosing masculine occupation and girls
choosing feminine occupation) more than girls choosing gender-traditional occupations. It
was indicated in the study that 44.7% of boys chose traditional male occupation as their
future career while 33.3% of girls chose traditional female occupation as their future career.
However, in the present study, it was found that female respondents were almost two times
more inclined to match a female name to a traditionally female occupation than male
respondents would be, to match a male name to a traditionally masculine occupation.
Another study conducted by Tzampazi, Kyridis and Christodoulou (2013) found that
only 10% of children chose occupations which traditionally belong to the opposite gender. In

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considering the results to this study, it was found that 4 of the feminine occupations were
perceived as neutral occupations by the male respondents, indicating that the findings of this
study differed from the previous study conducted by Tzampazi, Kyridis & Christodoulou. It
was found that the difference in the findings could be attributed to cultural differences and
exposure to daily practices. For instance, the occupation ‘teacher’, although perceived to be a
feminine based occupation in the beginning of the research was classified as a neutral based
occupation by almost all respondents. This could be due to the fact that all schools in
Malaysia have a certain number of male and female teachers, and as such the respondents
have been exposed to the occupation as one that can be practiced by both females and males.
4.2.3 Reinforcing Questions
The aim of the reinforcing questions was to answer our third question which is: how
do the respondents identify the gender related factor(s) that may have influenced their
perception of occupational role? As the thematic was identified in accordance to the data
analysis, several underlying factors were recognized as the prominent and obvious factors
that may have influenced the respondents’ gender-based stereotypical perception towards
occupational roles. The factors which were identified as the contributing factors towards the
respondents’ gender-stereotype thinking or their non-gender-stereotype thinking were
parents, peers, reading material, media, school and general experiences.
Parents.
One of the factors that were identified as a contributing factor was parents. In both
gender-based stereotypical perceptions and gender-based non-stereotypical perceptions,
respondents had pointed out their parent’s roles, actions, or words which caused them to
‘think’, ‘feel’ or ‘perceive’ the occupational role in that particular manner. For instance, in
supporting his perception of why only males can become mechanics (gender-role stereotype

35 SNHU@HELP CAT
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perception) one of the respondents noted that only his father and grandfather were the only
ones at home who repaired the sink when it was spoil.
“You see, when the sinks or anything else at home goes spoil, only my father and
babaji (grandfather) are the ones who fix them, did mummy do anything? No. So
that’s why only boys can fix. Girls don’t”
Another respondent in supporting her decision of why she thought that both genders (gender-
role non-stereotype perception) could become lawyers and why she wanted to become a
lawyer, indicated her father as an influential factor:
“My father is a lawyer. He says it is good. He has so many friends, girl lawyers. And
the money is good too. We live a comfortable life. So if I become a lawyer, the money
will be good too. And I will live a comfortable life”
Past research has indicated that a child’s behavior is shaped by behaviors of others,
especially parents and teachers, through the process of observation and imitation (Tzampazi,
Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013). De Caroli and Sagone (2007) stated that children acquire
gender-type behavior as a response to environmental reinforcements and modeling which is
first observed from parents, clearly pointing out that parents bring an important influence to
the gender-role stereotype perception of children.
It was additionally observed that the respondents also shaped their personal future
reality (her ambition) based on their parents’ occupation. In line with the finding is a study of
children’s preference of future occupational aspiration which found that children tend to
choose the career of their parents or their relatives (Tzampazi, Kyridis & Christodoulou,
2013). Besides that, it is said that parents’ expectations also contribute in shaping children’s
future career choices (Irwin, Sarah, & Elley, 2013).

36 SNHU@HELP CAT
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Therefore, it is apparent that parents’ influence is crucial in shaping the perceived
reality of children on gender-role stereotype specifically in occupational roles.
Peers.
Besides parents, peers have been noted to be factors that influence the perception of
the respondents towards gender role stereotype of occupational role. Peers in this study, are
represented by friends who attend the same school, tuition classes, social gatherings and play
sessions. If their peers have voiced out their ambition or desire to assume occupation, then
the respondents’ perception towards the occupation is molded to fit their peers’ desires of
those career choices. For instance, if a female child’s female peer wishes to become a pilot,
although it is masculine-typical-occupation, the female child will broaden her horizons to
include the female gender in the pilot category. One of the respondents indicated:
“My friend’s ambition is to become police woman. I know there aren’t many police
women around, but she is very brave and strong and she wants to become.”
However, interestingly, findings did not indicate the same for a male child. All male
respondents never indicated in any way that their male friends had wanted to assume a female
occupation and therefore they believed that a male could assume a feminine-typical-
occupation.
Respondents also linked their friends’ parents’ occupations to their perception of
occupational roles. For instance, a respondent, whose friend’s father and mother were
dentists, indicated that both females and males could become dentist, justifying the thoughts
with her knowledge of her friend’ parents’ occupation.
As such, the findings indicate that peers are an influential factor towards a child’s
perception on occupational role specifically based on the peers’ ambition and their parents’
occupation. One research indicated that peers are important communicators of sex-role norms

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(Kessels, 2005). A study by Egan & Perry (2001) on 64 children which required to children
to name their favorite activity while they were alone and once more when their peers were
around showed that their answer were more gender typical when their peers were around. The
findings of this study are in line with the findings of the current study in indicating that peers
influence the gender-based stereotype among children.
Reading Material (Textbook, Novel).
One other factor that was identified as an influential factor was books. Any form of
reading material from school textbooks, novels, newspapers and magazines, were quoted by
the respondents in supporting their gender based stereotypical perception or non-stereotypical
perception towards occupational roles. Words such as ‘I read in the book’, ‘I saw in the
textbook’ and ‘There were pictures in my textbook’ were identified as leading statements
towards the underlying factor. One respondent in supporting her perception of why both
males and females can become chef said that:
“If you look into history, many famous chefs were men. I read this in a book. Jamie
Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Chef One. All men. So of course, boys can become chefs
and girls too”
In explaining about why she feels that both girls and boys can become mechanics, another
respondent said:
“Just because boys are more into cars it doesn’t mean that girls cannot be into cars.
Girls can do anything if they wish to. I read this novel once, Theastillon, in the novel,
the girl does everything that she wants to and is very brave. So I feel that every girl is
like her and they can do anything they want. Like become a mechanic. Boy also can”
One such research that supports this finding it a research conducted on 9 and 10 year
old children which found that children were more likely to perceive females to participate in

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gender-atypical activities after they read storybooks with the female protagonists in gender-
atypical activities (Scott & Feldman-Summers, 1979).
Another respondent, in supporting her stereotypical perception towards why only girls
can and should become fashion designers said that:
“Boys are just simple. Girls are the ones who care more about looks. I saw it in a book
that I read, and in the book the girls was very fancy and all. That’s why I feel girls
care more about looks than boys”
A respondent who perceived that both females and males can become astronauts said
that she gained her knowledge from the newspaper. A recent study indicated that the numbers
of occupations that children believe are appropriate for women, increased after those children
were exposed to a storybook with female protagonists in atypical gender roles (Karniol &
Gal-Disegni, 2009).
“Both can if they want. I recently see in the news, in the newspaper, girl also, boy
also. So both can become. But must have skill and must know how.”
In supporting her perception towards why only males can become soldiers, one
respondent responded by saying that her school textbook, through is pictures indicated that
only males can become soldiers, because there were only males pictures as soldier and no
female pictures as soldiers. Although in this case, the school textbook only helped her
reaffirm her thoughts, it never the less can be identified as an underlying factor.
“Soldier must be brave. So only boys can. Even in the school textbook, the pictures of
soldier are boys, no girls. So that means that only boys can become. Girls cannot.”
From the above examples of respondents’ statements, it can be seen that books,
newspapers, textbooks, and any other written from have an influence on children’s perception

39 SNHU@HELP CAT
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of gender role particularly towards occupational roles. Children perceive their reality,
thoughts and feelings according to what they read or see in reading materials. Current
findings has consistent with previous research where a longitudinal study on Zimbabwean
girls from age 9 to 12 found that, girls who were exposed to gender-atypical storybook for a
longer duration were noted to have changed their career plans from gender-typical
occupations to gender-atypical occupations. Whereas this change was noted to be much lesser
among girls who were not exposed gender-atypical storybooks (Nhundu, 2007).
Media.
Media has been noted to be another underlying factor that influences children to
perceive their gender-based stereotypical or non-stereotypical thoughts on occupational roles.
As a matter of fact, it has been noted to be the most prominent factor among all other factors.
Words such as ‘I watched on TV, ‘I saw on TV’, ‘I watched movie’, ‘In the movie’,
‘Discovery Channel’, ‘There is a movie’ were noted in the responses of the respondents as an
indication that their perception was influenced by the media.
Media was seen to have influenced the perception of the respondents towards gender-
atypical occupational roles (such as females becoming firefighter, or males becoming fashion
designer). One of the respondents’ who had indicated that men can become fashion designers
supported her perception and thought by pointing out to the famous television reality show in
which one of the male participants was a fashion designer.
“You know Masterchef, there is a one boy participant. He is a fashion designer”
Additionally, the findings also indicated children between the ages of 9 to 13 learn
about gender-neutral-occupations from the media. Respondents had indicated that both males
and females can become chefs. One such example from a respondent supported her

40 SNHU@HELP CAT
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perception and thought by pointing out to the famous television reality show Masterchef
which comprises of male and female participants.
“There are male and females in Masterchef.”
“I saw on TV-Masterchef. The boys are very good”
“Masterchef has both boy and girl participants. That means that both boys and girls
can learn how to cook and work in restaurants and hotel”
Two other respondents, who perceived that both females and males could become fire
fighters, had indicated that they had watched it in a movie on the Television and six other
respondents who perceived that both females and males could assume the role of a police
officer had indicated that they too had watched a movie with a policeman and policewomen.
Below are some of the recorded responses.
“There was this movie, I saw a woman firefighter. I know there aren’t woman
firefighters in Malaysia, but I saw it in this movie. So I am not sure if they can
become in Malaysia but I believe that if they wanna, they can”
“If you see in the television, there police man and then there are police women. The
police women are very good. They can solve many cases. They are very smart and the
man police help them catch the criminal”
The findings indicate the media is a very strong tool to influence the perception of
children between the age of 9 and 13 toward occupational roles. However, the findings
highlight that media exposure influences children to have only gender-based non-
stereotypical perception towards occupational roles and not gender-based stereotypical
perception towards occupational. Therefore this indicates that media seems to be a positive

41 SNHU@HELP CAT
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influence towards children in helping them create neutral perceptions towards both male and
female occupational role.
Past studies contradicting to the recent findings however had indicated that exposure
towards media causes more gender stereotype. A study conducted by McGhee and Frueh
(1980) on children between ages 6 to 13 found that heavy television viewers (children who
spent 25 or more hours for television per week) reported higher gender role stereotype as
compared to light television viewers (children who spent 10 or less hours for television per
week).
School.
School was also identified as one of the underlying factors that influence a child’s
perception of occupational roles. What a teacher says in class has been seen to have an effect
on the child’s thought which is then linked to occupational roles. For instance, one teacher of
a respondent had mentioned playfully in class that boys are stronger and smarter than girls.
While the respondent tried to justify as to why girls cannot become doctors, she had quoted
her teacher in saying that boys are smarter and girls are not as smart as boys and as such, they
cannot become doctors.
“Mr. Vijay said that boys are smarter than girls. Girls are not so smart. So girls cannot
become doctors because to become doctor you need to be smart.”
Another respondent believe that although she had not seen female astronauts, females could
still become astronauts because her teacher had told them so in class.
“Because teacher said in class that girls also can become astronauts”
This clearly indicates that the education system, the school and teachers play a crucial
role in molding the child’s perception towards occupational role. Tzampazi, Kyridis &

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Christodoulou (2013) indicated in their research that a child’s behavior is shaped by
behaviors of others, especially parents and teachers, through the process of observation and
imitation. As such, if the teachers portray gender role stereotype on occupational roles, the
student will automatically be influenced by the act of the teacher and may further imitate the
gender role stereotype on occupational roles.
Another research which highlighted the importance of school being an influencing
factor on gender role stereotype was a research conducted on 247 elementary children aged 7
to 11 years old. The findings indicated that children as young as second grade reported that
“math is for boys”. This study suggested that math-gender stereotype in school may limit the
ability for girls in mathematics which may affect their future career choices (Cvencek,
Meltzoff & Greenwald, 2011).
General Experiences.
Another prominent factor which was identified through the data collection was the
general experience and exposure that these respondents had gotten in their life, from
experience such as hospital visits, mall visits and shops. In such instance, respondents were
observed using words like ‘I saw’ and ‘I’ve seen’, indicating that they form a certain thought
process or reality out of the their surrounding experiences, environment or exposure. As such,
if a respondent had seen, experienced, observed or been exposed to both genders practicing a
certain occupation, they would form a reality that both genders can assume that particular
occupational role. On the contrary, it was observed that if the respondent had not seen,
experiences, observed or been exposed to a particular gender, then their reality will be formed
on the basis that only one gender can assume that occupational role- the gender that they saw
and were exposed to.

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For instance, below was the response of respondents who had seen both genders
practicing a particular occupational role and were convinces that both genders could assume
the occupational role if they had the will and desire to do so:
“Once I took my sister to the hospital and I saw at the hospital, girls and boys
doctors”
“I went to Malacca for holiday, and outside on the road, there were many painters.
There were ladies and men and both were good”
“Next to my tuition is a flower shop. They sell flower there and there is one boy and
one girl working there. So I know that even if boys don’t like flowers then can still
become florist”
On the other hand, respondents who had seen or been exposed to only one gender
(either male of female) working as a particular occupation, believed that only that particular
gender could and should assume that particular occupational role. In line with that, below are
the recorded responses of the respondents:
“If you go to the hospital, who are all the nurses there? Girls. So it’s a girl-job not a
boy-job”
“I have been to the hospital many many times since I was a baby and I only saw girl
nurses; I have never seen a man nurse. What does that mean? It means that only girls
are supposed to become nurses, not boys”
“Boys cannot become florist because they are not gentle. When they see flowers they
step on it. I saw once. And there was once, I saw this boy, he killed a butterfly. Boys
don’t like nature”

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August 21, 2014
Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion
The aim of the research was to understand how children between ages 9 and 13
perceive occupational roles in terms of gender and how they identify the gender related factor
that may influence their perception of occupational role. The findings that were attained in
the research not only supported the theory by Gottfredson which indicated that children
between the ages of 9 and 13 are influenced by their social settings which surround them, but
the findings also very clearly satisfied the aim of the research. As our study reaching the end,
we have discovered:
5.1.1 Gender Role Stereotype
The findings of the study indicated that children ages between 9 to 13 years old did
show gender role stereotype where they tended to classify female and male into different
traits. For example, respondents used words like gentle, like to dress up, like flower, creative,
dependent, patient, caring, careful and soft to describe female. Whereas words like
dangerous, strong, brave, fast, smart, rough and simple dressing used by respondents to
describe male. This findings indicated that children ages between 9 to 13 years old did have
stereotype perception on gender which may influence their perception on occupational role.
5.1.2 Gender Role Stereotype Perception on Occupational Roles
The findings of the study also found that children ages between 9 to 13 years old
tended to show gender role stereotype when they perceive occupational roles. For example,
occupations such as firefighter, mechanic, pilot and soldier perceived by respondents as male-
based occupation. Whereas, occupations like baby-sitter, florist and nurse perceived by
respondents as female-based occupation. This findings indicated that gender role stereotype
could influence their perception on occupational role and limit their options in selecting
future career.

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5.1.3 The Underlying Factors of Gender Role Stereotype
The findings of the study have clearly pointed out factors such as media, parents,
peers, school, experiences and previously learnt gender role stereotype and the underlying
factors which influence the gender-role stereotypical perception of occupational roles among
children between ages 9 to 13. Media, parents, peers and schools, influence children to craft
their reality of occupational roles, in accordance to the exposure that they receive. The more
they are exposed to both genders performing the occupation, the lesser stereotype they have
and on the contrary, the more they are exposed to only one gender performing the occupation,
the more they display gender-role stereotype on occupational roles.
As the awareness of children about occupation grows, they imagine occupational
choices, draw tentative inferences, and select occupations by assessing oneself and the
environment around them (Ginzberg et al., 1951 as cited in Sellers, Satcher & Comas, 1999).
As such, if children will only make a reality of their ambition based on assessing what they
have seen, heard, or experienced. Therefore, if children between the ages 9 and 13 have a
high gender-role stereotype on occupational roles, they career choices will only be limited to
what they perceive they can or should do based on their stereotype perception.
The results yielded from the research (Tzampazi, Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013,
Irwin, Sarah, & Elley, 2013) supported the many researches which identified parents as an
influencing factor in the formation of children’s stereotypical perception. The findings of
current study were very much in line with the past research that indicated the influence of
school in shaping gender-role stereotype (Cvencek, Meltzoff & Greenwald, 2011).
The findings of current research not only reinforces the findings of past researches
about media influences on gender-role stereotype (McGhee & Frueh, 1980), it also shed new
light about the influence of media, in indicating that media is not entirely a negative influence

46 SNHU@HELP CAT
August 21, 2014
that causes more stereotype, but can be a positive influence in helping children eliminate
gender-role stereotype on occupational role.
According to research, it has been established that children learn according to the
information they receive from their surroundings, such as parent-child interaction,
reinforcement for desired behavior, parental approval or disapproval, and role modeling
(Witt, 1997). As such, it is utmost important that children receive exposures and experiences
which help them build a non-gender-role stereotypical perception toward occupational roles,
allowing them to freely choose and decide their occupations based on their interest and
ability.
One respondent had stated, “My teacher says boys are smarter than girls, so it means
girls cannot become dentists, because dentist need to be smart” This was an awakening
statement about how profoundly influential the social settings of children can be on their
occupational role perception. Therefore, it is not only important to understand the influential
factors which cause these gender-role stereotypical perceptions but it is also crucial to act
upon these factors to make sure that children are able to form their future career choice based
upon their interest and ability, and not based upon their gender role stereotype.
5.2 Limitations
Like every other research, this research too holds it limitation and gaps for further
improvement. Firstly, the limited time of engagement between researchers and respondents
did not allow researchers to probe the depths of the specific underlying factors which
influence the gender role stereotype in occupational roles among these respondents.
One other limitation lies in the weakness of respondents’ interpretation. Since the
respondents of the study are children who aged 9 to 13, the data recorded from the
respondents were mostly based on their level of understanding of the interview questions and

47 SNHU@HELP CAT
August 21, 2014
tasks given to them. As such, the respondents could have interpreted the interview questions
in a way different from that narrated by the researcher.
5.3 Recommendations
There is much more work can be done in order to get a clearer picture of underlying
factors which could have had influenced the occupational role perceptions of children
between ages 9 and 13. Future studies could expand our work by including more diverse
sample such as children from other races, children from other states of Malaysia or even
children who migrated to Malaysia from other country. Future studies also could expand our
work by conducting cross-cultural studies such as children from Singapore to test whether
children outside Malaysia present the gender role stereotype on occupational roles.
Besides that, future study could also expand our study by spending more time to
engage with respondents in order to come out with broader outcomes. For example, future
studies could focus on gender sensitization based on how children aged between 9 to 13 years
old are influenced by models from their surrounding environment such as characters in the
cartoon they watched, parents, teachers, peers and others.
To better the study further, a recommendation for future researches is that they probe
further into the factors that influence the gender-role stereotype on occupational role among
children, through a longitudinal approach so that we are able to better understand the cause
and effect of these factors.

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August 21, 2014
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Appendices

August 21, 2014
1 SNHU@HELP CAT
Appendix 1
Consent Form
Prospective Research Subject: Read this consent form carefully. Ask as many questions as
you like before you decide whether you want to participate in this research study. You are
free to ask questions at any time before, during, or after your participation in this research.
Project Title: Children’s Gender Role Stereotype Perception on Occupational Roles
Principal Researchers: Ajeet Kaur, Hajer Keliem, Michelle Tee
Telephone: 1) Ajeet Kaur (012-3083315)
2) Hajer Keliem (010-2633840)
3) Michelle Tee (012-2032536)
E-mail: 1)Ajeet Kaur (ajeet26@gmail.com)
2) Hajer Keliem (hajer_kaliem@homail.com)
3) Michelle Tee (teemeiyee2020@hotmail.com)
Organization: HELP college of Arts and Technology
Location of Study:
There is no specific location to conduct this study. This study will be conduct in a venue or
location selected by the guardians or parents of the participants.
Purpose of This Research Study
You are being asked to participate in a research study designed to understand the gender role
stereotype in occupational roles among children aged 9 to 13 years old.

August 21, 2014
2 SNHU@HELP CAT
This study will be conduct as part of researchers’ Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at HELP
college of Arts and Technology in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Procedures
The subject will be asked to complete Gender-Occupation Matching Test. In the Gender-
Occupation Matching Test, the subject will be asked to name one male name and one female
name that will be written on a piece of paper and be placed on the table. Then the subject will
be given a set of 38 cards with 19 different occupations, 2 cards with one occupation. The
subject will then be asked to classify the cards according to who they think would be more
likely to work as the given occupational titles (for example, who would be more likely to be
baby-sitter?).
The subject will also be required to complete a face to face interview after the Gender-
Occupation Matching Test. You may expect to spend approximately 20 to 30 minutes to
complete this study.
Possible Risks
There are no possible risks in this study.
Possible Benefits
You will receive no direct benefit from participating in this study; however the findings of
this study may create awareness in the society, that gender stereotype of occupational role
could affect and limit children’s thought process in choosing their future occupation.
Financial Considerations
You will not receive any financial compensation for your participation nor will you incur any
costs as a result of your participation in this research.

August 21, 2014
3 SNHU@HELP CAT
Confidentiality
Your identity in this study will be treated as confidential. Results of the study, including all
collected data, may be published in our dissertation and in possible future journal articles and
professional presentations, but your name or any identifiable references to you will not be
included. However, any records or data obtained as a result of your participation in this study
may be inspected by the persons conducting this study and/or HELP college of Arts and
Technology, provided that such inspectors are legally obligated to protect any identifiable
information from public disclosure, except where disclosure is otherwise required by law or a
court of competent jurisdiction. These records will be kept private in so far as permitted by
law.
Termination of Study
You are free to choose whether to participate in this study. You may also choose to withdraw
from the study or to decline to answer any questions at any time. You will not be penalized or
lose any benefits to which you are otherwise entitled if you choose not to participate or
choose to withdraw. You will be provided with any significant new findings developed
during the course of this study that may relate to or influence your willingness to continue
participation. In the event you decide to discontinue your participation in the study, please
notify [Ajeet Kaur ( 012-3083315) / Hajer Keliem (010-2633840) / Michelle Tee (012-
2032536) ] of your decision so that your participation can be terminated in an orderly fashion.
After the Study is Completed
Researchers will provide the summary of the result of this study to you via email.

August 21, 2014
4 SNHU@HELP CAT
Resources
Any questions you may have about this study will be answered by:
Researchers:
1) Ajeet Kaur (012-3083315) Email: ajeet26@gmail.com
2) Hajer Keliem (010-2633840) Email: hajer_kaliem@homail.com
3) Michelle Tee (012-2032536) Email: teemeiyee2020@hotmail.com
Or researchers’ supervisor:
1) Dr Angelo Maduli Email: angelo.cm@helpcat.edu.my
Subject and Researcher Authorization
I have read and understand this consent form, and I voluntarily consent to my child’s
participation in this research study. I understand that my consent does not take away any legal
rights in the case of negligence or other legal fault of anyone who is involved in this study. I
further understand that nothing in this consent form is intended to replace any applicable
federal, state, or local laws.

August 21, 2014
5 SNHU@HELP CAT
Signatures
Participant Name:
_______________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Name:
_______________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature:
___________________________
Date:
___________________________
Principal Researcher’s Name: Principal Researcher’s Signature:
Ajeet Kaur Mohon Singh
___________________________
Date:
___________________________
Person obtaining consent, if other than principal investigator:
___________________________
Signature:
___________________________
Date:
___________________________

GENDER ROLE STEREOTYPE PERCEPTION ON OCCUPATIONAL ROLES AMONG MALAYSIAN CHILDREN

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