Children shows on television have gender inequality content: Study

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Researchers claim that they have found gender inequality content in the television programme and in behind the scenes that children watch.

Researchers reveal that television shows geared toward children aged two to 12, 64% of male characters are still dominant on the screen, particularly for non-human characters (72%) and female human characters were more racially diverse (46%) than male human characters (25%).

"The fact that female characters are more likely to be portrayed as persons of colour suggests that some shows might be trying to 'check two boxes' with one casting," researchers Lemish and Johnson wrote in the study funded by International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television.

Lemish said, "Their findings are significant because television is a major socializing force in children's lives - they spend more time watching and interacting with screens than in any other activity and they learn from TV about societal values, who matter in society, what one can aspire to become, etc. It also matters because the U.S. continues to be the major producer and exporter of children's TV and thus it continues to disseminate such misguided values to the rest of the world."

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