New guidelines released to 'counter gender stereotyping' in UK schools

Phrases such as "man-up" and "sissie" will no longer be acceptable in schools, according to a new guide offered to schools

The guidelines are set to hit gender stereotypes in schools (PA)

School teachers are being urged to take sexist language as seriously as racist language, according to guidelines to be released to schools on Tuesday.

Phrases such as “man-up” will no longer be acceptable in a bid to counter sexist stereotypes.

The guidelines are based on a government-backed report from the Institute of Physics, which seeks to bridge the gender gap between science-based subjects in schools. The new “gender policies” are currently being trialled at a selection of schools in England before being rolled out.

Clare Thomson, from the Institute of Physics which was involved in drawing up the recommendations, told the Sunday Times: "Even low-level comments are potentially an issue with teachers using phrases such as ‘man up’.”

Schools are also encouraging senior staff to become “gender champions”, to encourage girls to take more traditionally “male” subjects, such as economics, computer science and physics.

The hope is that the results of the guidelines will also aid the gender wage gap. It’s thought that the stereotyping of certain subjects as “female”, such as English Literature and psychology are thought of as “soft” and may lead to lower-paid jobs.

A Government spokesperson from the Department for Education said:

“No woman should ever feel that their gender is a barrier to success, nor should they face stereotyping at any stage of their lives. As a government, we are committed to doing everything we can to help women feel empowered so that no career is seen as off limits. While we support the work that IOP has put into this guide and the advice it offers to help get more girls into STEM, we trust schools to know what is best for their pupils and to adopt the approaches that work for them.”

Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary and minister for Women and Equalities, is assessing the gender pay gap.