Lego To Market Toys 'Free Of Gender Bias, Harmful Stereotypes'

LEGO announced it will make its toys more inclusive as they market them to both boys and girls in order to remove “harmful stereotypes,” after conducting a new survey.

“Despite the progress made in girls brushing off prejudice at an early age, general attitudes surrounding play and creative careers remain unequal and restrictive,” the company said Monday in a statement.

“Girls today feel increasingly confident to engage in all types of play and creative activities, but remain held back by society’s ingrained gender stereotypes as they grow older,” the company added.

The company surveyed 7,000 parents and children ages 6 to 14 in seven different countries including the U.S., U.K., China, Japan, and Poland.

The research found that 76% of parents would encourage their sons to play with Legos compared to 24% who would recommend Legos to their daughters. Other takeaways from the study included 74% of boys and 62% of girls expressed the belief that some activities are meant for boys and others are meant for girls.

"New research commissioned by the LEGO Group reveals that girls today feel increasingly confident to engage in all types of play and creative activities, but remain held back by society's ingrained gender stereotypes as they grow older," the study notes.

The research asked children if it’s acceptable for girls to play football and boys to do ballet. The survey found 82% of girls said yes, while 71% of boys said yes. Meanwhile, 71% of boys said they worried they would be made fun of if they played with a toy being associated with girls, compared to only 42% of girls playing with toys that are associated with boys.

Parents were five times more likely to encourage their daughters to take part in activities such as dance, dress up, and three times more likely to encourage cooking or baking. On the other hand, parents were almost four times more likely to encourage their sons to play sports.

"Our job now is to encourage boys and girls who want to play with sets that may have traditionally been seen as ‘not for them,'" said Julia Goldin, Lego’s chief product and marketing officer.