Gender & Diversity in the Classroom

It is no secret that DEI is a passion of mine, so I was very happy to start off the academic year looking at Gender and Diversity in the Early Childhood classroom. On January 6th, the Department of Education hosted a webinar for its K–2 teachers that focused on gender diversity in the classroom.

I am a strong believer that, in today’s world, diversity is already present in every classroom. Our role as teachers is to notice it, to value it, and to plan for it. To do so, we not only have to take time learning, but also examining our biases. We must be open to the fact that many of our biases function at a subconscious level. We must do the work to challenge norms—and know that when we are asked why we do things the way we do, “it’s the way we’ve always done it” is no longer an acceptable answer.

In preparing for this webinar, I reflected on my childhood in the 80s. Yes, I am an 80s baby. During that time, there was an intentional shift in toys. I was part of the generation where toys that were traditionally considered “boys’ toys” started to be marketed toward girls. Saturday morning commercials began to shift, and suddenly we saw girls in overalls, hair pulled back, planning and building with blocks and LEGO. Somewhere along the pipeline, it was realized that if we want more female engineers and mathematicians, we need to expose girls to the development of these skills early.

By the time my daughter was born decades later, LEGO had become a normal and acceptable toy for girls. Still, I remember when she pointed out that she would appreciate having LEGO sets that included more than just pinks, beiges, and purples. At that point, I began supplementing her collection with more traditional sets that included bold colors not typically marketed to girls.

Over the years, we have seen that toys such as LEGO not only improve spatial awareness, but also other cognitive skills such as planning and organization, math skills, problem-solving, and, of course, creativity and imagination. These skills are in addition to the fine motor and executive functioning skills required for longer, sustained tasks like building LEGO creations.

In addition to reflecting on the opening up of the LEGO world for us 80s girls, I also dug deep into my memory to consider how this shift looked for boys. Does anyone remember My Buddy? My Buddy was a toy introduced by Hasbro in the mid-80s to help normalize nurturing play for boys. Traditionally, dolls were marketed almost exclusively to girls. My Buddy was an effort to support the development of social-emotional skills in boys, particularly caring and nurturing behaviors.

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, it is important to take time to reflect on your biases and your ideas about what is “gender appropriate.” Is there such a thing? Does that question—is there such a thing?—comfort you or make you nervous? All of these are worth exploring when making an intentional effort to create inclusive spaces.

If you are a teacher wanting to be intentional about creating a gender inclusive classroom, here are some quick suggestions to help. 

Consider the Environment

• Diverse books and visuals
  Include characters of all genders, abilities, and backgrounds.
• Toys and centers not labeled by gender
  Avoid “girl corner” or “boy corner.”
• Inclusive language
  Use terms like “children,” “friends,” or “everyone.”

Teaching Practices

• Offer choices in how students learn and show understanding
  Drawing, building, acting, writing—avoid steering choices based on gender.
• Normalize emotions for all children
  “It’s okay to feel frustrated—let’s work through it together.”
• Avoid reinforcing stereotypes
  For example, avoid phrases like “Big boys don’t cry.”
• Encourage risk-taking across subjects
  Girls in math, boys in storytelling—really, everyone in everything.

Teacher Language Tips

• Praise effort and persistence rather than gendered traits:
  “I noticed how carefully you planned that tower.”
  “You kept trying until it worked—that persistence is excellent.”

Responding to Gender Policing
Things children might say:

• “Only girls wear pink.”
• “That’s a boy toy.”

Simple, developmentally appropriate responses:

• “Toys are for everyone.”
• “Colors don’t belong to boys or girls.”
• “Everyone can try.”