Gender stereotypes: Men just aren't very good at reversing!

Positive stereotypes can be as damaging as negative ones, particularly for women.

Our unconscious bias comes from a variety of different sources, for example the messages that we get through the media, what our friends and family tell us and our own life experiences. They’re a kind of cognitive shortcut that enables us to categorise the world and saves us from having to interpret every interaction from scratch.
The ability to quickly and automatically categorise people is a fundamental quality of the human mind - every day, we group other people into categories based on social and other characteristics. This is the foundation of stereotypes, prejudice and, ultimately, discrimination.
We also tend to look for evidence that confirms our stereotypes and disregard evidence that doesn’t - so they become self-perpetuating and very hard to break.
Gender stereotypes
• Descriptive stereotypes are the beliefs we have about how men and women are different - so, for example, the belief that women are kind-natured and gentle and good with children, and men are logical and strategic and good with machines.

• Prescriptive stereotypes set out how we feel that men and women ‘should’ behave - so, for example, women ‘should’ be kind and caring and men ‘should’ be ambitious and decisive. Both men and women face penalties if they go against these prescribed norms of behaviour - for example, if a woman is forceful and assertive, or if a man is gentle and softly spoken.

• Positive stereotypes can be as damaging as negative ones, particularly for women. The backlash against negative stereotypes of women in the workplace has meant that they are now far more likely to be described in positive terms - so for example, as ‘empathetic’, ‘caring’, ‘people-oriented or ‘good communicators’. The problem with these positive stereotypes is that the qualities typically associated with women are not the qualities that are most highly valued in the workplace, so these positive stereotypes actually serve to disadvantage women.

[rarheaume]

OK this might explain that bizarre yet common phenomenon of the men who play self appointed traffic cop and wave cars through when said assistance is completely unnecessary.

[kellyallen]

she should have offered to do the manoeuvrefor him too😃