Gender Audit Reveals Textbook Biases

New Delhi: At least 53 textbooks used in Delhi govt schools have come under the scanner following a detailed gender audit of their contents earlier in the year. TOI has learnt that SCERT, which conducted the first of its kind gender audit of textbooks being used by children in Delhi, sent its recommendations to NCERT, following which some crucial changes were made and several others are underway.The audit reviewed 53 textbooks on different subjects and found a consistent imbalance in the representation of genders, perpetuating traditional stereotypes and excluding significant contributions of women, officials informed TOI. The audit detected heavy male dominance in both the textual content and illustrations across the subjects. From primary to senior levels, textbooks consistently portrayed men in leadership or physically active roles, while women were often relegated to secondary or passive roles.Officials explained, for instance, in environmental studies textbooks, men were shown engaging in outdoor activities like farming and construction work, while women were depicted performing domestic tasks such as cleaning and cooking. Such imbalanced portrayals, they said, reinforced outdated gender roles.The Deshbhakti curriculum, aimed at instilling patriotism in students, was found to be particularly gender biased. It celebrated male freedom fighters and political leaders while marginalising the contributions of women. In many instances, women were portrayed in supportive or nurturing roles, further promoting the idea that leadership and nation-building were male domains. Illustrations in the curriculum showed men in professions associated with physical strength, such as the armed forces or policing, while women were depicted as teachers or nurses."This contrast in representation sends a message to young students that men are more capable of heroic achievements while we are limited to caregiving roles," said Sangeeta, a govt schools student in north Delhi's Adarsh Nagar. "Textbooks shouldn't encourage gender bias and we should be encouraged to become successful in different spheres."The audit also uncovered the near-total absence of transgender and non-binary representation in the textbooks. This lack of visibility not only excluded these identities from the educational narrative but also prevented students from learning about the full spectrum of gender diversity in society. By omitting transgender and non-binary characters, the textbooks failed to foster inclusivity and promote an understanding of gender beyond the male-female binary, officials said.Nahar Singh, joint director, SCERT Delhi, told TOI that several changes were made following the audit, including in the Deshbhakti curriculum. He highlighted that a gender audit like this was undertaken for the first time by SCERT and the results pointed to glaring lapses.The recommendations made by the audit were to revise the content and illustrations across all subjects to ensure a more balanced representation of genders. It specifically mentioned the need for the inclusion of women in leadership roles and professions traditionally dominated by men to avoid gender stereotyping in textbooks."Our job was to do a thorough audit of the textbooks and we did that," said Singh. "We did not hide anything and sent our recommendations to NCERT. Many changes have been made in this regard and we also found that sometimes it was because of a lack of communication between the writer and the illustrator that resulted in the gender-biased representation." He added that SCERT intends to conduct a gender audit on every single page content meant for school students now onwards.