Individual and cultural gender roles: A comparison of Anglo-Australians and Chinese in Australia

Using a combined student and community sample, the present study examined whether there were cultural differences in gender role stereotypes between Anglo-Australians and Chinese background immigrants and sojourners in Australia. In addition, cultural differences in the sex-based differentiation of gender roles were examined, along with an assessment of the possible mediating role of acculturation. Five-hundred and ninety participants (418 Anglo-Australians, 172 of Chinese background) from academic institutions and community groups in Melbourne, Australia were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), an individual-level measure of gender roles. Factor analyses of the Bem items showed similar factor structures for the two cultural groups, despite differences on their country-level indices of masculinity (Hofstede, 1998). Further, Hofstede's proposal that sex differences in gender roles would be more pronounced in 'masculine' societies was not supported, however both genders identified more strongly with masculine values/traits if they were Anglo-Australian in background, and with feminine values/traits if they were of Chinese origin. The possible role of acculturation in mediating these identifications was not established.