Gender Expectations Questionnaire (GEQ)

Gender expectations are pressures to behave a certain way based on your sex, often limiting identity and well-being.

The Gender Expectations Questionnaire explores how children experience, internalise, and respond to gender-related expectations—both in and out of school. It sheds light on how these expectations shape behaviour, emotional well-being, and self-expression.

Through anonymous, age-appropriate surveys, students can safely share how they feel about the messages they receive from peers, adults, media, and wider society. Schools gain vital insight into how these influences may affect learning, confidence, and inclusion.

Five Key Factors

The questionnaire is structured around five factors that influence young people’s views and experiences of gender:

• Your Gender Expectations – What students believe boys and girls are 'meant' to be like.
• Personal Experience – How their own actions or emotions have been affected by gender expectations.
• Social and Peer Influences – Pressures from friends, classmates, and media.
• Impacts of Gender Expectations – How these pressures affect well-being and choices.
• Challenging Gender Expectations – Whether they feel able to challenge unfair or restrictive ideas.

These factors give a full picture of how expectations are absorbed, reinforced, or resisted—and where schools can offer support.

Why It Matters

Expectations linked to gender can shape what students feel able to say, do, or become. For some, these expectations cause stress, anxiety, or a loss of confidence. For others, they can create social pressure to conform or act in ways that don’t feel true to who they are.

By understanding how these influences work, schools can better support all students to express themselves freely, feel safe, and succeed.

How It Works

• Anonymous Online Survey – Completed in class in under 20 minutes.
• Immediate Reports – Breakdown by school, year, class, and key demographic groups.
• Accessible Language – Clear questions, suitable from Year 5 upwards.
• Practical Insights – Score bands with tailored suggestions for reflection and support.

Designed to Support Change

Reports help schools:

• Identify patterns and silent struggles
• Start meaningful conversations with students and staff
• Promote fairness, inclusion, and emotional well-being
• Challenge restrictive stereotypes in a constructive way

Want to Learn More?

We’re here to help you explore how gender expectations are affecting your students—and what can be done to support them. Ask for a demo, free resource pack, or tailored presentation today.

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• Free resources and demonstrations available on request
• Live chat with a real person—no bots!

Let’s support every child to grow up confident, capable, and free to be themselves.