Gender stereotyping and socialization as tools sustaining patriarchal ideology in tertiary institutions

Abstract

A major feature of the Nigerian traditional society is its patriarchal
nature. Patriarchy is a social system whereby men dominate and
lord it over women in the society. Two ways through which this
system thrives are gender stereotyping and gender socialization.
Society prescribes roles and behaviours for people. One
characteristic feature of this prescription is that it is determined and
limited by sex. From birth, a child begins to be moulded towards
exhibiting the roles and behaviours assigned to her/him by the
society. Through the process of socialization, the child comes to
learn what is proper or otherwise with regard to the expectations of
the society. Being that one of the aims of tertiary education is to
inculcate proper values for the survival of the individual and the
society, one wonders if patriarchy as an ideology of women
subjugation has not also permeated our universities. Using Albert
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, this paper therefore sought to
find out the effect of gender stereotyping and socialization on the
leadership of student bodies in the university. Data were generated
through a survey of selected departmental students associations. The
findings indicate a lopsided tilt in favour of a particular sex over a
five-year period. The paper submits that every form of
marginalization of any particular sex in tertiary institutions must be
challenged, and therefore recommends awareness programmes on
the importance of gender equity in the society.