LEGO Ready for Girls Creativity Study

Introduction

Research conducted by the LEGO Group and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the purpose of the Ready for Girls Creativity Study is to better understand whether and how “creativity” is gendered. This study investigates how parents of children perceive creativity and whether creativity takes on different meanings depending on whether their child is a boy or girl. Additionally, we investigate how children perceive creativity. This study also examines prevailing notions of creatives and creativity in media.

To address these questions we apply two methodologies. First, we analyze parents’ and children’s perceptions of creativity with a survey across seven markets (US, UK, Czech Republic, China, Japan, Russia, Poland). Second, we analyze messages about creativity that people are receiving in publications aimed at parents and the broader population with a content analysis of UK media. In short, we want to know what people believe about gender and creativity and how these beliefs are shaped and reinforced by the media they consume.

Executive Summary

Survey Analysis

• Parents express that they are more limited in the types of creative activities they can encourage their sons to do, compared to their daughters.
• Children, especially boys, prefer creative activities that conform to traditional gender roles.
• Implicit reactions find parents encourage daughters to engage in activities that are performative, artistic, and domestic or related to the dramatic arts; these findings persist across markets.
• Implicit reactions find parents encourage sons to engage in activities that are related to STEM, physicality, and activities that engage exploration and curiosity; these findings persist across markets.
• Parents imagine a man in the vast majority of creative professions, regardless of whether there is a daughter or son in their household; children share these impressions.
• Parents recommend incorporating more gender neutral marketing for creative products.

Content Analysis

• Female creatives are more likely than male creatives to be featured in Parenting Blogs (61% compared to 35%), but male creatives are more likely than female creatives to be featured in Public Discourse (53% compared to 47%).
• Female creatives are more likely than male creatives to be visually prominent in Parenting Blogs (39% compared to 14%) and Public Discourse (57% compared to 44%); but male creatives are more likely than female creatives to be mentioned in headlines in Parenting Blogs (17% compared to 10%) and Public Discourse (33% compared to 27%).
• Parenting Blogs and Public Discourse do not cover creatives in overwhelmingly gendered terms, however, women are more likely to be described with feminine terms in Parenting Blogs (20% compared to 8%) and Public Discourse (17% compared to 5%), and men are more likely to be described with masculine terms in Parenting Blogs (13% compared to 1%) and Public Discourse (8% compared to 6%), reinforcing gender stereotypes.
• Creative professions featured in Parenting Blogs and Public Discourse vary, but female creatives featured are more likely to hold traditionally feminine creative-type roles.