She’s Just Like Me! Women Role Models in Children’s Books.

In the modern age, most countries are not against the thought of women in positions of power. In fact, many countries like America and Morocco encourage hiring women for esteemed positions (Mouline et al.). Why, then, do women consist of only about 26% of American politicians, 13% of Moroccan business leaders, and as little as 16% of STEM majors world-wide (Cahn; Mouline et al.; Shumelev)? Studies suggest that this discrepancy arises from the fact that, whether directly or subliminally, women are taught to believe early on that these positions are not options for them (Cahn; Shumelev). Regrettably, many children’s books are guilty of encouraging this belief by portraying female characters as frightened or innocent supporting roles compared to their strong and goal-oriented male counterparts (Kortenhaus and Demarest; Adukia et al.). This presentation will address the often-discouraging portrayal of women in children’s books around the world and compare its developmental effect on children with the life-long, encouraging effect of positive female representation in children’s literature