Gender Roles or Gender Responsibilities?

1 When does gender inequality take root? In the cot, according to the Bourdarias nursery in Saint
2 Oueen, in the suburbs of Paris, the first infant care centre in France to introduce a policy to combat
3 discrimination in 2009.
4 Last month France's minister for women's rights, NajatVallaud-Belkacem, visited the nursery to
5 promote this pioneering work. Only one other nursery in Seine-Saint-Denis has launched a similar
6 policy. "We will not achieve equality if we do not combat the construction of stereotypes as early as
7 possible," Vallaud-Belkacem said.
8 "We aim to give [children] the foundations to develop properly," says the head of the nursery,
9 HaudeConstantin-Bienaim. "But what we observe is that even very young boys and girls don't have
10 the same degree of self-confidence.
11 "Children develop by imitation, with adults exerting considerable influence," Constantin-
12 Bienaim suggests. "We bring up our children in line with our own representations and with the
13 expectations society places on each sex. Little girls should smile and be sensible, little boys should be
14 brave." Parents are not the only ones to blame. Teachers, the media, literature, the childcare and toy
15 industries bombard toddlers with stereotypes.
16 The nursery looks much the same as any other, with the usual toys. Without denying
17 differences, its "proactive egalitarian pedagogy" seeks to avoid locking children up in boxes, with
18 pink and tea sets for girls, blue and lorries for boys. "We try to keep toys as neutral as possible,
19 without banning dolls or garages," says David Helbecque, one of the educators. "Simply, we show the
20 young girls that they can play with the toy cars, make a noise, shout and climb. Boys wanting to play
21 with dolls are encouraged too."
22 "The merit of this pedagogy is that it enables everyone to
23 broaden the scope of what is possible," says Genevive Cresson, a
24 sociologist at Lille-1 University and a specialist in children and
25 gender relations. "Gender discrimination reduces the opportunities
26 for young women, but is also damaging for their male counterparts,
27 imposing aggressive behaviour and requiring them to hold back
28 emotion."
29 The craft and cooking workshops are open to all comers. The
30 former is led by a woman, the latter by a man. Everything is vetted: the activities available to children,
31 but also relations between adults of both sexes at the nursery, even everyday language. "Adults need to
32 work hard on their own behaviour to gain an awareness of the biased way they treat girls and boys,"
33 Cresson explains. "They're always convinced they are perfectly even-handed."
34 Seine-Saint-Denis council, which manages a network of 55 nurseries, is backing this initiative.
35 "It is part of a broader approach," says council leader StphaneTroussel. "We have a scheme to combat
36 gender discrimination in secondary schools and an observatory of violence against women. This is not
37 to say that things are any worse here than elsewhere, but we do not want to deny its existence."
38 The work at the Bourdarias nursery demands parental support, but the response in this socially
39 mixed area where executives from the capital rub shoulders with the residents of low-income
40 housing estates has been positive. The nursery is now heavily oversubscribed.
41 Childcare specialists are convinced that such policies enhance mutual respect between the sexes
42 and can reduce violence against women. But the approach needs to be applied on a larger scale and
43 extended to schools. "We have nevertheless made a small contribution to laying the
44 foundations," says Constantin-Bienaim.
Galle Dupont, Guardian Weekly, 9 October 2012
 TASK ONE: Reading Comprehension: In your own words answer concisely the following questions.
1. The author doesnt deny differences between boys and girls, what do you think are they? (Line16)

..
..
..
..

2. What does the author imply by They're always convinced they are perfectly even-handed (Line31)

Itbmeans
..
..
..

3. Do you think socialization determines gender roles? Explain

..
..
..
..
..

TASK TWO: in one complete sentence summarize the main idea elaborated in the reading passage.
..
..
..

TASK THREE: In 8-line paragraph comment on the following viewpoint: We will not achieve
equality if we do not combat the construction of [gender] stereotypes as early as possible.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..

TASK FOUR: Translate into French the passage from But the approach needs to says
Constantin-Bienaim. (lines40-43)
.
..
..
..
.
..
..
TASK FIVE: Write a four-paragraph Essay. Either support or oppose the following assumption:
Gender discrimination reduces the opportunities for young women, but is also damaging for their
male counterparts
.
..
..

...
..
..

.
..
..

...
..
..

.
..
..

..
.
..
..

.
..
..

...
..
..

.
..
..

...
..
..