By Aida Murauskaitė, LRT.lt.

A review of newly published Lithuanian schoolbooks has found that men vastly outnumber women across subjects, with female characters confined to a narrow range of stereotypical roles – even in mathematics.

The findings were presented to the Lithuanian Parliament’s Education and Science Committee by the association Lyderė (Female leader), which brings together women in leadership roles.

Researchers Asta Kupčinskaitė, a doctor of humanities, and Milda Krupauskienė examined the values conveyed through 17 teaching materials published in 2023–2024 – all produced under the country’s newly revised national curriculum.

“Textbooks have an academic component, but they teach not only reading and arithmetic – they also teach values,” Dr Kupčinskaitė told the committee.

A woman bakes pastries, men fight fires and sail ships

The researchers found that across subjects and age groups, men’s names, professions and images appeared far more frequently than women’s. In one primary education publication, an illustration showed six characters: five men and one woman. The men were depicted as a firefighter, sailor, doctor, police officer and construction worker. The woman was a pastry baker.

Read more: LRT.LT