Not All Math Activities Are Equal in Terms of Gender Stereotypes

The "math as male" stereotype is societally pervasive and emerges early in development. However, math is a broad and multifaceted domain that requires proficiency in several different cognitive skills. The current study explored the gender stereotypes associated with toys linked to the cognitive skills of numeracy, spatial reasoning, and patterning. Across three studies (N = 878), adults viewed toys associated with each cognitive skill and reported who would prefer them: boys, girls, U.S. parents buying for boys versus girls, and self as a child. The gendering of toys varied by toy. The most consistent alignment was between spatial reasoning toys and boys. Results for numeracy and patterning toys were more mixed, but sometimes neutral or female-leaning. There also tended to be a shift when reporting about others' preferences versus own preferences, with a weaker male stereotype for the latter. Understanding how adults associate these cognitive skills with gender has important implications for research in mathematics education and belonging within STEM fields.