Educational programs in which people are exposed to counter-stereotypical role models are often used for breaking gender stereotypes. Most gender role-model interventions focus on adolescents and emerging adults. Yet, middle childhood might be a highly effective period for changing gender stereotypes because children are still learning about…

Negative stereotypes about female intellectual abilities occur in children as young as 6-years-old and can shape a child's educational path and career choice, particularly in relation to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The current study (N = 40) explored preexisting gender stereotypes in a purposeful sample of 6 to 8-year-old…

The presence of gender-related professional stereotypes has been detected as early as preschool. The value of counterstereotypical role model interventions in triggering changes in the gender perceptions of children has been extensively researched with varying results. In the present study, drawing on the operational tool of exposing children to…

Female role models show promise for inoculating women against the harmful impact of stereotypes impugning their ability in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM, e.g., Dasgupta in Psychol Inq 22(4):231-246, 2011). We conducted a test of an intervention to leverage the benefits of STEM role models. Female STEM majors (N = 72) in their…

While 4-H espouses to be inclusive of all, the reality is often that the bulk of membership within 4-H community clubs is viewed with a heteronormative lens of participation. Recognizing that existing studies of gay and bisexual individuals who grew up in 4-H do not exist, this study is novel and critical to begin to fill the research gap and…

Nontraditional Options in Training for Employment (NOTE) informed displaced homemakers and high school women about the advantages of nontraditional work and encouraged them to pursue vocational training. The first objective was to recruit 60 displaced homemakers and high school women and to inform them about the advantages of technological…