The Legos toy brand may have started over 85 years ago in1932 but has innovated through the years to continue being one of the most popular toys worldwide. The Danish toy company The Lego Group is proving they’re innovating once again with a major announcement that they will be removing gender-biased toys from their product line.
This move comes after research indicated stereotypes can have negative effects on young children including gender-specific toys and are starting a new program to be more inclusive for all children. Lego will be promoting their new campaign, Ready For Girls, after discovering through research that girls are encouraged to play with all types of toys.
The study also indicated young girls are also interested in physical and STEM activities that are more commonly associated with boys, but boys aren’t being encouraged in the same way. Lego wants to champion inclusive play by making gender-inclusive toys and Lego is letting go of gender stereotypes.
Lego is working to make their toys more inclusive by removing gender references with research results showing their current line of toys results in kids holding stereotypical, gender-associated through play. The study indicated that 4 in 10 girls and 3 in 4 boys are uncomfortable with opposite gender toys that also translates to parents. The study showed parents are four times more likely to encourage girls to engage in dress-up compared to boys and parents are two times more likely to encourage boys to do coding compared to girls.
Most boys and girls in the study agreed with the idea that certain activities are gender-specific leading to developing attitudes with a lasting impact. Another major note from the study is that parents and boys expressed being worried that they would be teased for wanting to play with toys often associated with girls. The research also indicated that girls felt more confident than boys to engage in a variety of plain activities.
Lego isn’t the only toy brand that is becoming gender inclusive as Hasbro rebranded their classic Mr. Potato Head toy into simply Potato Head that can be used by all kids. Hasbro’s rebrand gives kids the chance to have a toy that can represent their unique family dynamic and their own personal style.
The growing demand for gender-neutral toys is also encouraging Lego to ensure they change the bias of parents’ experience towards the brand like thinking it’s only for boys and will be an example of removing biases in the toy industry. Lego is only one of many toy companies that are pushing towards offering gender-neutral toys to become the new norm.