Gender representation in children’s literature : analysis of illustrations in Canada’s Governor General’s Award winning books
A content analysis of illustrations in Governor General’s Award winning books from 1987 to 2006 was carried out to determine and compare gender representation. The results show that, in general, women were under-represented in the illustrations, except in domestic activities in which we found very few male characters. Male characters were mostly represented in personal or professional activities. Awareness of the possible consequences of gender representation in children’s book illustrations is discussed.