By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
Roles of men and women at work. Image by Tim Sandle.
Global data appears to explain why cultural beliefs about the skills and personality traits of men and women differ across the world
Researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Bern in Switzerland have conducted a cross-temporal, multinational study to compare views of gender using data collected 30 years apart.
This international study reveals that people’s beliefs about the attributes of women and men follow from the differing social roles that they typically occupy in homes and workplaces in their respective societies.
The goal driving the research was to understand the sources of stereotypes of men as assertive and ambitious and of women as the kinder and more caring gender. The study showed that these stereotypes reflect the differing social roles that are typical of women and men in homes and workplaces in nations across the world.
The researchers based their study on a Gallup public opinion poll of 22 nations from 1995, which they replicated and expanded to 40 nations in their 2023 survey. The results showed that across all nations and both time points, poll respondents reported that men are the more agentic gender, displaying qualities such ambition and competitiveness, and that women are the more communal gender, displaying qualities such as warm and caring.
The findings may seem surprising, given global trends showing the growing number of women in the paid workforce around the world. Yet, according to the researchers, a simple explanation exists.
A similar explanation accounts for how the communal stereotype of women as the kinder and more caring gender differs across nations. The researchers found that the “women are communal” stereotype was stronger in nations with greater occupational segregation of women into jobs in communal domains, such as teaching professions. In other words, stereotypes across the world reflect the roles people see women and men occupy in their societies.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, gender stereotypes about competence, such as intelligence and creativity, reflect the extent to which women and men obtain college degrees in their respective societies. As the proportion of women earning degrees has increased overall, people have come to believe that women and men are equally competent.
Taken together, this study suggests that gender stereotypes are a result of people’s observations of the roles that women and men typically occupy in their societies.
Another key finding
In nations where women had greater political power and were better represented as heads of government agencies, people ascribed more communion — but not more agency — to women than men. The likely explanation is that women tend to occupy the more communal version of roles, for example, heads of agencies pertaining to family and children, rather than financial affairs and defence.
Implications
The researchers maintained that widely shared beliefs about the traits of men and women have far-reaching consequences. Although these gender stereotypes can be helpful as shortcuts that guide thinking in everyday life, they also can foster unfair judgments of individuals who are not typical of their gender.
Stereotypes can make people who do not fit expectations appear not just surprising, but unacceptable, leading to disapproval, for example, of a woman who excels as an aerospace engineer or a man who is a caring teacher of young children. Stereotypes can also harm society as well as individuals.
In terms of how to change, policies that would support a more flexible division of labour and thereby weaken gender stereotypes include allowing parental leave for fathers and improving childcare options to enable mothers to maintain demanding careers outside the home.
The researchers also pointed out the automation of many jobs that once required heavy physical labour has opened up new opportunities for women in such areas. Stereotypes are also undermined by welcoming qualified men into female-dominated roles in childcare and other caring professions.
The study has been published in the journal PNAS, titled “Gender stereotypes across nations relate to the social positions of women and men: Evidence from cross-cultural opinion polls.”
SCIENCE EDITOR
DIGITAL JOURNAL
January 16, 2026
January 16, 2026
Roles of men and women at work. Image by Tim Sandle.
Global data appears to explain why cultural beliefs about the skills and personality traits of men and women differ across the world
Researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Bern in Switzerland have conducted a cross-temporal, multinational study to compare views of gender using data collected 30 years apart.
This international study reveals that people’s beliefs about the attributes of women and men follow from the differing social roles that they typically occupy in homes and workplaces in their respective societies.
The goal driving the research was to understand the sources of stereotypes of men as assertive and ambitious and of women as the kinder and more caring gender. The study showed that these stereotypes reflect the differing social roles that are typical of women and men in homes and workplaces in nations across the world.
The researchers based their study on a Gallup public opinion poll of 22 nations from 1995, which they replicated and expanded to 40 nations in their 2023 survey. The results showed that across all nations and both time points, poll respondents reported that men are the more agentic gender, displaying qualities such ambition and competitiveness, and that women are the more communal gender, displaying qualities such as warm and caring.
The findings may seem surprising, given global trends showing the growing number of women in the paid workforce around the world. Yet, according to the researchers, a simple explanation exists.
A similar explanation accounts for how the communal stereotype of women as the kinder and more caring gender differs across nations. The researchers found that the “women are communal” stereotype was stronger in nations with greater occupational segregation of women into jobs in communal domains, such as teaching professions. In other words, stereotypes across the world reflect the roles people see women and men occupy in their societies.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, gender stereotypes about competence, such as intelligence and creativity, reflect the extent to which women and men obtain college degrees in their respective societies. As the proportion of women earning degrees has increased overall, people have come to believe that women and men are equally competent.
Taken together, this study suggests that gender stereotypes are a result of people’s observations of the roles that women and men typically occupy in their societies.
Another key finding
In nations where women had greater political power and were better represented as heads of government agencies, people ascribed more communion — but not more agency — to women than men. The likely explanation is that women tend to occupy the more communal version of roles, for example, heads of agencies pertaining to family and children, rather than financial affairs and defence.
Implications
The researchers maintained that widely shared beliefs about the traits of men and women have far-reaching consequences. Although these gender stereotypes can be helpful as shortcuts that guide thinking in everyday life, they also can foster unfair judgments of individuals who are not typical of their gender.
Stereotypes can make people who do not fit expectations appear not just surprising, but unacceptable, leading to disapproval, for example, of a woman who excels as an aerospace engineer or a man who is a caring teacher of young children. Stereotypes can also harm society as well as individuals.
In terms of how to change, policies that would support a more flexible division of labour and thereby weaken gender stereotypes include allowing parental leave for fathers and improving childcare options to enable mothers to maintain demanding careers outside the home.
The researchers also pointed out the automation of many jobs that once required heavy physical labour has opened up new opportunities for women in such areas. Stereotypes are also undermined by welcoming qualified men into female-dominated roles in childcare and other caring professions.
The study has been published in the journal PNAS, titled “Gender stereotypes across nations relate to the social positions of women and men: Evidence from cross-cultural opinion polls.”
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