ABSTRACT
The roadshows were a kind of performance put on by Girls into Science and Technology (GIST) for the schools, not necessarily with the full help or support of the teaching staff. At Green Park, discussion of non-traditional options fitted somewhat uneasily with the kids' awareness that in that school they had not even been offered the opportunity to take non-traditional crafts. There was a clear sex difference in response to the meetings with men in non-traditional occupations. Boys gave significantly lower ratings to the home economics teacher, nurse tutor, househusband, nurse and domestic cleaner. Overall, the girls liked meeting the men more than the boys did. However, the ratings overall were positive, suggesting that the roadshows were enjoyed just as the VISTA visits were. Boys' more negative reactions to males in non-traditional occupations can be related to their tendency to give themselves higher masculinity ratings. GIST finding that boys are markedly more sex-stereotyped than girls.
