A researcher has suggested Australian toy stores should ditch stereotypical gendered products and layouts.
People have long associated pink with girls and blue with boys (even though this was actually reversed in the early 1900s) and that has permeated through loads of different toys.
However, Australian Catholic University's Laura Scholes has explained how companies should steer away from this if they can.
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The Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education Associate Professor said gendering toys and products has been shown to dissuade girls from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
She conducted a study involving hundreds of young kids and it's clear that something needs to change.
Prof Scholes said: "We asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up and why.
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"The main finding was the occupations kids are aspiring to haven't really changed in the last 20 years - boys are still wanting to be professional sportspeople, STEM-related jobs, police or military. Girls still want to be teachers, work with animals, the arts."
While there's nothing technically wrong with kids aspiring to do those things, it's worth noting that a lot of children's toys reinforce these pathways because they're marketed to different genders.
Prof Scholes said it's too late to try and encourage girls to pursue STEM when they get into school because their attitudes have already been largely shaped by what they've played with for hours.
"These stereotypes aren't being challenged and they're happening before kids get to school," she explained to news.com.au. "That's why gender-neutral toys are so important, because once they get to school it's too late.
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"I think we can do more in Australia, which has a history of hyper-masculine boyhood where boys have to be boys and play sports, and girls are expected to (conform to traditional gender roles).
"Research shows girls are very image-conscious about forming an identity that's acceptable; it happens at a very early age."
California recently brought in a new law that required toy stores to have a gender-neutral section that has a 'reasonable selection' of items.
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Large scale retailers like Target and Toys 'R Us will have to also display their regular products in a gender-neutral way that doesn't specifically encourage either sex to buy them.
The bill, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, doesn't specifically outlaw boys and girls toy sections and will come into effect in 2024 to give retailers enough time to workout their game plan.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Australia