Sex Stereotypes: Some Evidence from Australian Schools

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Abstract
Sex stereotypes help to support a view of the male sex as naturally possessing qualities relevant to leadership which are believed to be lacking in the female. These assumptions are apparent in accounts of male and female family and economic roles and are reflected in attitudes to sex roles in many situations. Although objective reality may be similar for both, boys are more likely to believe in the deficient female stereotype than girls. Comparisons of the attitudes and sex stereotypes of girls and boys in high schools with a female principal and high schools with a male principal were investigated to ascertain whether having experience of women in leadership roles was related to greater acceptance of women's capabilities. Findings of this research indicate that boys significantly more often than girls believed that women generally did not possess the characteristics necessary for leadership, regardless of the sex of the principal. Male attitudes to female capacities may partially account for women's lack of career advancement.

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