We investigate gender-stereotyped beliefs about children's academic abilities among parents. Leveraging survey and school administrative data, we document that parents underestimate girls' mathematical skills and overestimate their reading skills, while the opposite biases are observed for boys. Employing quasi-experimental evidence, we show that providing parents with information about their children's abilities, in the form of national standardised test scores, eliminates gender bias in mathematics. Our findings further reveal that parents' underestimation of girls' mathematical abilities contributes to a widening gender gap in mathematics during late childhood, highlighting how exposure to gender biases can hinder girls from achieving their full academic potential.

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8 December 2022     Paper Number CEPDP1891

Download PDF - Gender stereotypes in the family

This CEP discussion paper is published under the centre's Education programme.