Gender Role Stereotyping in Hong Kong's Primary School Chinese Language Subject Textbooks

This paper reports on a content analysis of Chinese Language textbooks used in primary schools in Hong Kong, published during the period 1995 to 2000. We examine the extent of gender stereotyping evident from the pictures in these textbooks, in terms of the proportion of male and female characters represented; the settings in which they appear, their portrayal in domestic or non-domestic roles, and the kinds of occupational roles male and female characters were portrayed in. A total of 5,180 pictures in our sample of 108 textbooks have been analyzed and our findings indicate that gender stereotyping in these four areas is still common. However, when compared with the findings of previous studies, we found that the extent of gender stereotyping has reduced to some extent.