Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary school textbooks during the spanish and portuguese transitions to democracy from 1974 to 1982

Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society Volume 16, Issue 1, Spring 2024: 34–54 © GEI doi: 10.3167/jemms.2024.160103 ISSN 2041-6938 (Print), ISSN 2041-6946 (Online) Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary School Textbooks during the Spanish and Portuguese Transitions to Democracy from 1974 to 1982 Virginia Guichot-Reina and Ana María De la Torre-Sierra Abstract • In the mid-1970s, after the end of military dictatorships, Spain and Portugal experienced a transition to democracy that promoted the establishment of regimes committed to achieving gender equality in public and private life. Women saw significant advancements in education and employment rights, enabling them to have more job opportunities. Using critical discourse analysis, we examine the socio-occupational representation of women in primary textbooks from Spain and Portugal from 1974 to 1982 in order to assess whether state-approved textbooks accurately reflected the reframed female role in society. The results show a lack of female characters depicted in economically rewarding roles and the persistent presence of gender segregation in the workforce’s horizontal and vertical dimensions. Keywords • critical discourse analysis, gender discrimination, occupational socialization, primary education, textbooks, women studies This article analyzes the way in which primary school textbooks in Spain and Portugal portrayed women and their role in the workplace (as represented in texts and images) in the second half of the 1970s and early 1980s, a period during which both countries were undergoing transitions from dictatorship to democracy. These were especially complex times; while bold legislative initiatives were undertaken in an attempt to overcome the hegemonic traditional portrayal of femininity, the strength with which conservative gender stereotypes persisted across society was considerable. Our study forms part of a broader research initiative entitled “The Individual, Nature and Society: A Study of Their Interrelations and Representations in School Textbooks in Spain and Portugal in the Last Third of the Twentieth Century” (Individuo, naturaleza y sociedad: estudio de sus relaciones y representaciones en la manualística escolar de España y Portugal en el último tercio del siglo XX). We address part of the third specific objective of the project, which is to discover the relationships established between work and gender and to identify differences and This article is available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license thanks to the generous support of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media and Georg Eckert Institute. Spring 2024 35 Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary School Textbooks similarities between the types of messages and narratives conveyed in Spanish and Portuguese textbooks. The study of school textbooks from a gender perspective took its first steps in Spain and Portugal toward the end of the 1980s. Sociocultural notions regarding gender (in its symbolic order and in the collective consciousness) are communicated to children starting with school textbooks, which convey values, attitudes, and behaviors depending on gender stereo types.1 Starting with the very first studies, research exposed the patent sexism of Spanish and Portuguese textbooks’ images, language, and content. Very few women were represented, offering to pupils a vision of the world in which the most important actors were nearly always men.2 It is within this theoretical framework, which falls under the rubric of women’s studies, that our study fits. It is also highly significant for four reasons: (1) it addresses the issue of economic socialization, an issue that very few prior studies have looked at; (2) it portrays the socio-occupational imaginary that is reflected in textbooks (especially the way in which this representation changed during the transition to democracy); (3) its scope includes two countries; (4) and its methodology consists in the use of critical discourse analysis.3 Below, we will provide a brief description of the sociopolitical context of each country in its transition to democracy and of the accompanying progress made by women. This will be followed by an exposition of the methodology, a discussion of the results, and our conclusions. These conclusions highlight the fact that in order to achieve equality between men and women, we need to eliminate gender stereotypes that are deeply rooted in our society and that are evident in a great many cultural products that we both produce and consume. Historical Context: Two Transitions, One Struggle against GenderDiscrimination In the mid-1970s, Spain and Portugal both underwent a transition from military dictatorship to democracy. A coup d’état by a coalition of army captains (Capitanes de Abril) on 25 April 1974 in Portugal and the death of General Franco on 20 November 1975 in Spain are seen as the start of the periods of transition to democracy in these countries. Specialized historiography on the subject considers the two transitions to have been quite different.4 However, there were a number of aspects that were common to Spain’s and Portugal’s recent dictatorial past. Both Francisco Franco and António de Oliveira Salazar oversaw the construction of states that allowed for the existence of a single party (Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista—FET y de las JONS—in Spain and the Unión Nacional in Portugal) and were 36 JEMMS Virginia Guichot-Reina and Ana María De la Torre-Sierra characterized by their anti-parliamentarianism, their political and economic anti-liberalism, their fight against communism, their limitation of people’s rights, and their support of conservative values. This latter feature led both the Salazar and the Franco regimes to embrace a similar feminine ideal, namely, that of the mother-wife dedicated to taking care of her husband and raising her children. This role, based on the nineteenth-century ideology of the two realms (a public one for men and a private one for women) also encompassed the doctrine of each gender’s different natural abilities and functions. Converting such an ideology into reality required the implementation of gender policies that, in addition to relying on education in a broad sense, resorted to a legal order in which women’s legal rights were subjugated to the tutelage of their husbands. This guaranteed male social control by impeding any attempt by women to gain social or economic control and by stymieing any professional ambitions they might have.5 With the end of dictatorship, women in Spain and Portugal saw the chance to finally stand up to the tyranny of being considered “minors” or “second-class citizens” and to achieve the same rights and obligations as men. Both the Spanish Constitution of 1978 (in Article 14) and the Portuguese Constitution of 1976 (in Article 13) declared all citizens to be equal before the law and prohibited discrimination based on gender. At this point, both countries put into place a number of mechanisms to convert this constitutional declaration into reality. The women’s international movement reinforced the considerable effort reflected in these fundamental laws in favor of true gender equality. This effort was supported by the United Nations via the World Conference on Women (Mexico City in 1975 and Copenhagen in 1980) and by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1979. Spain and Portugal were among the first countries to ratify this agreement.6 In Spain, beginning before the end of the dictatorship, but continuing much more robustly during the transition, different organizations and associations such as the Association of Housewives (Asociación de Amas de Casa) and the Women’s Democratic Movement (Movimiento Democrático de las Mujeres) worked to raise women’s awareness of the public and political issues facing the country in general and the specific issues related directly to discrimination against women.7 Created in 1981, the Women’s Institute (Instituto de la Mujer) played a vital role throughout the decade in advocating for the Plan for Equal Opportunities for Women (Planes para la Igualdad de Oportunidades de las Mujeres), which proved decisive in achieving greater fairness for women. At the same time, demands for equality began to be taken into account at the legal and judicial levels. For example, Law 16/1976 (from 9 April), which per- Spring 2024 37 Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary School Textbooks tains to labor relations, states that women and men with the same work capacity are accorded the same rights, obligations, and opportunities, and should therefore receive equal pay for performing the same work. Law 30/1981 (from 7 July), known as the “Divorce Law,” finally legalized divorce and guaranteed the divorced woman’s right to retain custody of her children.8 In Portugal, the Constitution of 1976 conferred on women, for the first time in history, a legal status equal to that of men, serving as a starting point for their struggle to achieve real equality. One prominent figure in this struggle was Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo. Having been appointed as the minister of social affairs at the very start of the transition, she created the Commission of the Feminine Condition (Comissão da Condição Feminina, CCF), which was recognized by Decree 47/75 (from 1 February). This stage of diagnosis or discovery of the myriad discriminations that women faced was followed by a series of initiatives (also promoted by the CCF) and legislative measures to counter such discrimination. In 1977, the CCF helped introduce essential changes to the Civil Code (Código Civil) and family law, which guaranteed equality and curtailed the marital power that had benefitted men. In 1982, adultery was decriminalized. Throughout the 1980s, the CCF embarked on numerous pioneering initiatives and projects aimed at empowering women in what it considered priority areas, including education, intervention at the local level, decision-making, and family planning.9 Economically, both Spain and Portugal enjoyed considerable growth during the 1970s. This included a shift to a tertiary economy accompanied by a reduction of the primary sector, tendencies that were sustained during the transition to democracy.10 This transformation in the countries’ economic structures stimulated the incorporation of women into the workplace, owing to the fact that many of the new types of paid jobs (salespersons, hotel receptionists, nurses, and teachers) were deemed appropriate for women. At the start of the democratic transition in Spain, in 1976, the rate of male economic activity was 77.8 percent, in contrast to a rate of 28.67 percent for women. In Portugal, in 1975, the rate of male economic activity was 61.2 percent, while that of women stood at 38.8 percent.11 However, it is evident that important inequalities in work opportunities persisted. Formal progress was not accompanied by true equality in the socioeconomic sphere, in good part because of the persistence of traditional, conservative attitudes toward female employment.12 An important element for girls and young women, therefore, was the availability (or lack) of positive references and role models that could allow them to see themselves working in different professional fields. The didactic material shown to them in school was thus of enormous importance.13 Below, we will examine what they found in their textbooks. 38 JEMMS Virginia Guichot-Reina and Ana María De la Torre-Sierra Methodological Approach School textbooks allow us to analyze a curriculum and the material covered in a given subject not only in conceptual, methodological, and pedagogical terms, but also in the subject’s political, cultural, and social dimensions. This is due to the way in which textbooks represent a materialization of each country’s educational changes and historical-pedagogical circumstances.14 The methodological approach used in this study fits within the framework of critical discourse analysis (CDA), an analytical technique that problematizes social norms, abuses of power, discrimination, and domination in specific discourse structures (in this case, those pertaining to school and education).15 In this context, it is essential to introduce the concept of the “false neutral” as articulated by Maria Isabel Barreno.16 This idea, which is deeply entwined with linguistic and gender-related concerns, underscores how the universal masculine gender in language can deceive with an illusion of neutrality when referencing men and women, while in reality it subtly reinforces androcentric norms and perpetuates gender inequality. The integration of this concept within our study allows us to highlight the intricate relationship between language, discourse, and gender dynamics in the educational context, demonstrating how seemingly innocuous language choices can have far-reaching implications. Our starting premise is the understanding of discourse as a “communicative event” that encompasses written texts and images.17 Textbooks constitute a mechanism of social control by means of their discourses.18 Their ideological function is not limited strictly to the “legitimate” knowledge contained in their pages; rather, there is a significance that is expressed in the inclusion of certain topics and social actors and the omission of others.19 In textbooks, the dominant social representations take the form of the feminine and masculine characters (whether real or fictional) that appear in scholastic discourse. Via these characters, pupils learn about the significance of “being a man” or “being a woman” within a specific socioeconomic and human context.20 Given that the context of the production of this school material is culturally and socially defined, it is possible that a patriarchal system could contribute to the reproduction and reinforcement of stereotypes relating to femininity and masculinity.21 Our sample encompasses the study of masculine and feminine representation in school textbooks used in the subject of social studies. The books were approved by the respective ministries in Spain and Portugal (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia in Spain, Ministério da Educação e Investigação Científica in Portugal) and published during the establishment of democratic political regimes in the last third of the twentieth century (Table 1). The textbooks adhere to guidelines stipulated in the Spring 2024 39 Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary School Textbooks General Education Law of 1970 in Spain and Law 5/1973 in Portugal, both of which brought profound changes to the countries’ educational systems, especially regarding democratization and equality in teaching. What was known as Basic Education (Enseñanza Básica) in Spain and Portugal during the transition to democracy consisted of eight years of compulsory education.22 For this study, we examined school textbooks used by boys and girls aged eleven, which in both countries corresponds to year six. In Spain, this was termed the sixth course of EGB (Enseñanza General Básica), while in Portugal this year corresponded to the second year of Ensino Preparatorio. We believe that pupils at this age can assess and reflect upon lengthy school texts. The textbooks studied were from the subjects of national history (Portugal) and social studies (Spain). These subjects play a crucial role both in the acquisition of knowledge and in the transmission of values pertaining to life in society. The textbooks chosen for this study were sourced from the International Center of School Culture (Centro Internacional de la Cultura Escolar, CEINCE) and the Portuguese National Library (Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, BNP). They were published by two renowned publishing houses, Anaya in Spain23 and Porto Editora in Portugal.24 The selection was based on the significant influence that these publishers have in their respective countries, and we considered them to be highly representative and appropriate for our analysis. Our primary unit of analysis is the “social actor.”25 Social actors are represented by the human characters (male and female) portrayed in the textbook discourses. They interact, communicate meaning, and serve as a link between discourse and reality, playing an essential role in the configuration of pupils’ identities.26 Theo Van Leeuwen asserts that these symbolic representations “include or exclude social actors to suit their interests and purposes in relation to the readers for whom they are intended.”27 For this study, we carried out a systematic codification of all female and male social actors present in the textbooks’ discourses. A total of 2,549 characters appears in the 502 pages of the sample. The codification was performed using the software MAXQDA Analytics Pro 22.5.0, Table 1. Summary of the selected textbooks. No. Country Title Grade Year Publisher Subject Authors Pages 1Spain Ciencias Sociales 6º 6º EGB 1981 Anaya Social Studies J. Prats et al. 295 2Portugal História de Portugal 2º Ano Ensino Preparatorio 1981 Porto Editora History of Portugal F. Costa et al. 207 40 JEMMS Virginia Guichot-Reina and Ana María De la Torre-Sierra which is recognized for its reliability in analyzing qualitative data and for its proven capacity to handle data from studies using CDA in the realm of education and school textbook studies.28 The study makes every effort to comply with the rigorous methodological standards in the field of women’s studies.29 It is important to acknowledge the limitations inherent in the methodology used, which involves an exhaustive process of digitalizing, transcribing, and processing data. The digital and computational technologies employed are meant to ensure a precise and complete compilation of the social actors represented in each textbook. It is for this reason that we chose a sample that, while limited in some ways, provides us with an initial perspective of the topic at hand and offers us the possibility of an approach to the study of androcentrism and gender discrimination in the textbooks from the viewpoint of CDA. This approach, which uses MAXQDA, is potentially applicable to other didactic material in other historical or geographical contexts. The categorizing process is based on a variety of CDA models, which we used to adopt a semiotic, discursive approach.30 Our classification is grounded in Van Leeuwen’s system network of social actors31 and is organized into two broad categories (“inclusion” and “exclusion” of social actors in school discourse). Table 2 contains the system of subcategories used to carry out a non-androcentric, critical reading of the material.32 These indicators explain the semantic options used in school discourse for presenting social actors, constructing their identities, assigning them social and professional roles, transmitting their legacy, assessing their actions, modeling their attributes, creating networks of relationships, and naturalizing positions of power and domination over different social groups. In order to detect possible gender bias in the representation of social actors, we carried out transversal calculations of the Gender Parity Index (GPI) and of the Gender Equity Index (GEI). The GPI is based on the principle of parity and scrutinizes the proportion of feminine characters in relation to masculine characters shown in the school textbooks. The index is obtained by dividing the number of feminine social actors by the number of masculine social actors. Values inferior to 0.7 indicate a masculine bias, values between 0.8 and 1.3 show parity, and values greater than 1.3 reveal a feminine bias.33 The GEI, based on the concept of equity, allows us to assess the degree to which the textbooks succeed in showing a balanced representation of genders. The GEI calculation is obtained from the ratio between two differences. The numerator gives the percentage of appearance of feminine characters, which corresponds to the underrepresented group minus the minimum absolute value (0percent), while the denominator gives the difference between the value showing complete equity (50 percent) and the minimum absolute value. Spring 2024 41 Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary School Textbooks The resulting GEI can then be classified into different levels: very high (0.8 < GEI ≤ 1), high (0.6 < GEI ≤ 0.8), moderate (0.4 < GEI ≤ 0.6), low (0.2 < GEI ≤ 0.4), and very low (0 < GEI ≤ 0.2).34 The combined use of the GPI and GEI allows us to make comparisons between the textbooks of the countries selected and to detect similarities and differences regarding their inclusion of feminine characters. Table 2. The coding scheme of social actors. CDA Analytical Models Appraisal1Attribute: The psychosocial qualities of social actors that are valued in the discourse. Contribution: The actions of social actors that contribute to shaping the course of history. Significance: The profound importance of social actors to society. Achievement: The notable accomplishments of social actors throughout history. Mode2Profiled: The appearance of social actors with a detailed description. Cited: The mere mention of social actors without further elaboration. Work: The inclusion of social actors based on their original works (written works, artistic creations, and so on). Location3Main body, Activity section, or Annexes in textual content. Foreground–Background and Public–Private spheres that social actors occupy in iconographic content. Type of Character4Main characters: central or primary social actors who play significant roles in the discourse. Ordinary characters: secondary social actors who play roles less prominent in the discourse. Cultural references: include real-life social actors who have had a profound impact on society in various fields, including history, humanities, literature, arts, sciences, and more. Behavior5Activation: the assignment of active roles to social actors. Passivation: the assignment of passive roles to social actors. Functionalization6Economic remuneration: the acquisition of economic remuneration through the work that social actors embody in the discourse. Relational identification: the identification of social actors through their work relationship. 1. M. Cecilia Fernández, “Appraisal in the Discourse of History Teaching: Contributions to the Analysis of Androcentrism,” Revista Signos 50, no. 95 (2017): 361–384, http:// repositoriodigital.uct.cl/handle/10925/2824. 2. Ana M. López-Navajas, “Las mujeres que nos faltan: Análisis de la ausencia de las mujeres en los manuales escolares” [The missing women: An analysis of the absence of women in school textbooks], PhD diss., University of Valencia, 2015. 3. Ibid., 95–98. 4. Carole Brugueilles and Sylvie Cromer, Analysing Gender Representations in School Textbooks (Paris: UMR CEPED, 2009). 5. Van Leeuwen, “The Representation of Social Actors,” 32–70. 6. Ibid., 67. 42 JEMMS Virginia Guichot-Reina and Ana María De la Torre-Sierra Discussion: The Unequal Socio-occupational Representation of Women and Men in Primary Social Studies Textbooks during the Spanish and Portuguese Transitions to Democracy For this study, we analyzed a total of 2,549 social actors that appear in the discourse of the school textbooks chosen for our sample. Of this total, 11.95 percent are women (n = 195) and 88.05 percent are men (n = 1,437) (Table 3). Within the textual content, we identified a total of 917 social actors, of which 54 were feminine characters, and 863 were masculine characters. This proportion reveals that males represent approximately 94 percent of the individuals appearing in school textbooks in both countries. This result shows a marked disparity in gender representation, with a very low gender equity score (GEI = 0.12). It is worth highlighting the fact that, on average, about six female characters are shown for every 100 male characters in these textbooks, denoting a significant masculine bias in terms of gender parity (GPI = 0.06). With regard to iconographic content, the images appearing in Portuguese textbooks (n = 141) and Spanish textbooks (n = 220) made for a total of 361 images. We should point out that the textbooks from both countries showed a marked prevalence of male characters. While 78.95 percent of the images represent men exclusively (Portugal: n = 118; Spain: n = 167), in those images containing people of both sexes (Portugal: n=19; Spain: n = 36), 71.56 percent show a majority of male characters. In terms of gender parity, we find only seven images with a majority of females for every one hundred images in which males dominate (GPI = 0.07). In the Spanish textbooks used during the transition, the images showing women exclusively amount to 7.73 percent of the total (n = 17), while in Portuguese textbooks from the time this proportion falls to 2.84 percent (n= 4). These results demonstrate the limited representation accorded to women both individually and collectively in these school textbooks. An examination of the social actors shown in the images analyzed (n=1,632) reveals 195 women (11.95 percent) and 1,437 men (88.05 percent) (Table 3). The number of women shown in the Spanish textbooks is double that found in the Portuguese textbooks, where only eight women are shown for every one hundred men (GPI = 0.08). The resulting GEI shows an equity that is very low for Portugal and low for Spain. With regard to the age of the social actors shown, we turned our attention to the childhood stage, given that the textbooks are directed at primary school pupils. In this respect, we find that boys as well as girls tend to be shown as figures devoid of any voice or power as social subjects. This absence of young characters is more marked in Portuguese textbooks (3.49 percent) than in those used in Spain (24.01 percent), while the presence of girls is, on average, 9.01 percentage points lower than that of boys. Spring 2024 49 Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary School Textbooks Conclusion From a historical perspective, the transition period to democracy provided a framework for the advancement of Spanish and Portuguese women in many areas, and especially in the socioeconomic domain. Female participation in these countries’ economies during this time reached nearly 29 percent in Spain and 39 percent in Portugal. Despite the progress made and the profound changes that took place in both societies, structural aspects in social thought and attitudes persisted, reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes, as is revealed in school discourse from the time. School textbooks are a valuable source for research in the field of the history of education. They afford us a view of the social, political, and cultural ideals and visions of a given era. Our findings from this study attest to the pervasiveness of patriarchal gender roles in the representation of social actors in didactic material, with differences that do not correspond to the social reality of these countries at the time. Particularly egregious is the depiction of women in the workforce, which in these textbooks is given at an extremely low 8 percent. School discourse also silenced female contributions to sociohistorical developments. From a profound intersectional feminist perspective, our study reveals a concerning overrepresentation of white male social actors in textbooks. This underscores the critical urgency for a comprehensive and intersectional approach to textbook development. This approach must conscientiously account for various dimensions of identity, incorporating aspects related to race and colonial history. Its objective is to offer a more faithful and resonant portrayal of the multifaceted identities and lived experiences of people within society.46 Textbooks portray and transmit models that influence the formation of pupils’ personal identities and their configuration of future social roles. This has enormous implications for the construction of individual identity,47 as it is via schoolbooks (as agents of socialization) that generations from this recent era learned of two clearly distinct models of masculinity and femininity, each with its specific interests, expectations, and professions. Table 8. Economic sectors of the social actors segregated by gender in textbooks. Spain Portugal Primary Secondary Tertiary Primary Secondary Tertiary % Women 4.92 59.02 36.07 15.38 23.08 61.54 % Men 14.29 13.70 72.01 14.57 4.93 80.49 50 JEMMS Virginia Guichot-Reina and Ana María De la Torre-Sierra We can see, therefore, the way that the persistence of authoritarian mentalities, habits, and attitudes perpetuated stereotypes regarding masculinity and femininity in school textbooks, which it would presumably take longer to eradicate. There was evidently a considerable way to go in order to achieve a fairer, more equitable representation of social actors and to foster a greater understanding of the capabilities and roles of men and women that a truly democratic society requires. Finally, this research delves into the intricate relationship between school textbooks and gender bias, a topic of paramount significance in education and societal development. However, it is essential to note that while this study has not directly observed individuals’ reactions to biased representations, a promising avenue for further investigation lies in assessing the long-term effects of such sexism. Historical evidence indicates that such biases can endure for generations, impacting a nation’s socioeconomic and cultural landscape.48 By examining the state of each country decades later, we can link biased textbooks to their ongoing societal evolution, showcasing the enduring influence of these biases on the course of history.50 In order to make informed policy decisions and curriculum improvements, it is essential to understand the lasting effects of education on individuals and society. In addressing the persistent impact of biased textbooks, we take a significant step toward shaping a future marked by equality, opportunity, and social progress. Virginia Guichot-Reina is a professor of education at the University of Seville. She specializes in contemporary social thought and political philosophy. Email: [email protected] Ana María De la Torre-Sierra is a professor of education at the University of Seville. Email: [email protected] Notes 1. Tiziana Ramaci, Caterina Ledda, . . . , and Venerando Rapisarda, “Gender Stereotypes in Occupational Choices: A Cross-Sectional Study on a Group of Italian Adolescents,” Psychology Research and Behavior Management 10 (2017): 109–117, doi:10.2147/PRBM.S134132. 2. Nuria Garreta and Pilar Careaga, Modelos masculinos y femeninos en los textos de EGB [Masculine and feminine models in EGB texts] (Madrid: Instituto de la Mujer, 1987); Ivone Leal, “A imagen femenina nos manuais escolares” [The feminine image in school textbooks], Cadernos Condição Feminina 11 (1979): 1–85, here 60. 3. This interesting line of study begun by the authors was continued in Ana M. De la Torre and Virginia Guichot, “The Influence of School Textbooks on the Spring 2024 51 Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary School Textbooks Configuration of Gender Identity: A Study on the Unequal Representation of Women and Men in the School Discourse during the Spanish Democracy,” Teaching and Teacher Education 117, no. 103810 (2022): 1–13, doi:10.1016/ j.tate.2022.103810. In this study, we have adopted an international perspective, which allows us to make a comparative analysis with Portugal. Furthermore, we expand our analytical instruments by examining textual as well as iconographic content as they are used to present social actors in the textbooks. 4. Santos Juliá, Javier Pradera, and Joaquín Prieto, Memoria de la Transición [Memory of the transition] (Madrid: Taurus, 1996); Victoria Prego, Así se hizo la Transición [How the transition was carried out] (Barcelona: Plaza & Janés, 1995); António Costa, ed., Portugal Contemporâneo [Contemporary Portugal] (Lisbon: D. Quixote, 2005); António Reis, ed., Portugal: 20 Anos de Democracia [Portugal: Twenty years of democracy] (Lisbon: Temas & Debates, 1996). 5. Carmen Sarasúa and Carme Molinero, “Trabajo y niveles de vida en el franquismo: Un estado de la cuestión desde una perspectiva de género” [Work and standards of living under Francoism: The state of the question from a gender perspective], in La historia de las mujeres: Perspectivas actuales [The history of women: Current perspectives], ed. Cristina Borderías (Barcelona: Icaria, 2009), 309–354, here 315; Maria del Rosario Ruiz, ¿Eternas menores? Las mujeres en el franquismo [Eternal minors? Women under Francoism] (Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, 2007); Anne Cova and António Costa, “O Salazarismo e as mulheres: uma abordagem comparativa” [Salazarism and women: A comparative approach], Penélope: revista de histórica e ciencias sociais 17 (1997): 71–75, https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/ articulo?codigo=2656445. 6. Maria Cristina Pérez, “A mulher no direito internacional: Compilação de instrumentos internacionais relacionados com a condição femenina” [Women in international law: A compilation of international instruments related to the feminine condition], Cadernos Condição Feminina 13 (1980): 1–160. 7. Matilde Alonso and Elies Furió, “El papel de la mujer en la sociedad española” [The role of the woman in Spanish society], Economía, Treball i Territori 19 (2007): 25–32, https://shs.hal.science/file/index/docid/133674/ filename/El_papel_de_la_mujer_en_la_sociedad_espanola.pdf. 8. Esperanza Bautista, “Mujer y democracia en España: evolución jurídica y realidad social” [Women and democracy in Spain: Legal evolution and social reality], Documentación Social 105 (1996): 49–73, here 55. 9. CIG (Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade de Género), “History,” https:// www.cig.gov.pt/area-a-cig/historia-da-cig (accessed 21 May 2023). 10. Carlota Coronado and Elena Galán, “Mujer y ámbito laboral en la ficción española sobre la Transición” [Women and the labor sphere in Spanish fiction dealing with the transition], Cuadernos de Relaciones Laborales 35, no. 1 (2017): 209–225, doi:10.5209/CRLA.54990; António Barreto, “Populaçao e sociedade” [Population and society], in A busca da democracia 1960-2000 [The search for democracy 1960-2000], ed. Antonio Costa Pinto (Madrid: Fundación Mapfre, 2015), 113-145, here 124. 11. INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, España), “Encuesta de población activa” [Survey of the active population], https://www.ine.es/dyngs/ 52 JEMMS Virginia Guichot-Reina and Ana María De la Torre-Sierra INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176918&menu =resultados&idp=1254735976595 (accessed 8 May 2023); INE (Instituto Nacional de Estatística, Portugal), “Estatísticas Mercado de trabalho” [Statistics of the workforce], https://www.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpgid=ine_tema&xpid =INE&tema_cod=1114 (accessed 8May 2023). 12. Bautista, “Mujer,” 72. 13. S. Lezcano, “Tontas útiles desde la EGB” [Useful fools, starting in primary school], Cuadernos de psicología 11–12 (1977): 40–46, here 40; Anne-Marie, “A discriminaçao sexual dos papéis sociais nos manuais portugueses de aprendizagem da leitura” [Sexual discrimination in social roles in Portuguese reading textbooks], Revista Potuguesa de Pedagogia 11 (1977): 25–38, here 30. 14. Justino Magalhaes, “Una nota sobre la Historia del manual escolar: Entre la producción y la representación” [A note on the history of the school textbook: From production to presentation], in Manuales Escolares: estatuto, funciones, historia [School textbooks: Status, functions, history], ed. Rui V. de Castro, A. Rodrígues, J. L. Silva and M. L. Dionísio de Sousa (Braga: Universidad de Minho, 1999), 279–302. 15. Teun Van Dijk, “Análisis crítico del discurso” [Critical discourse analysis], Revista Austral de Ciencias Sociales 30 (2016): 203–222, doi:10.4206/rev.austral .cienc.soc.2016.n30-10. 16. Maria Isabel Barreno, O falso neutro: um estudo sobre a discriminação sexual no ensino [The false neutral: A study of sexual discrimination in education] (Lisbon: Instituto de Estudos para o Desenvolvimento, 1985). 17. Teun Van Dijk, “La multidisciplinariedad del análisis crítico del discurso: un alegato en favor de la diversidad” [The multidisciplinarianism of critical discourse analysis: A call for diversity], in Métodos de análisis crítico del discurso [Methods of critical discourse analysis], ed. Ruth Wodak and Michael Meyer (Barcelona: Gedisa, 2003), 143–176. 18. Michael Apple, Manuais escolares e trabalho docente: uma economia política de relações de classe e de género na Educação [School textbooks and teaching: A political economy of class and gender relationships in education] (Lisbon: Plátano Editora, 2002). 19. Maria C. Radich, Temas de História em livros escolares [History topics in school textbooks] (Porto: Edições Afrontamento, 1979). 20. In this study, we take the human being to be a social entity in permanent interaction with others, that is, living in society. See Diego López, El medio ambiente [The environment] (Madrid: Cátedra, 2001); and Michel Foucault, L’archéologie du savoir [The archeology of knowledge] (Paris: Gallimard, 1969). 21. Maria G. Sole, “A história nos manuais escolares do ensino primário em Portugal: representações sociais ea construção de identidade(s)” [History in primary school textbooks in Portugal: Social representations and the constructions of identity(ies)], Historia y memoria de la educación 6 (2017): 89–127, doi:10.5944/hme.6.2017.17128. 22. During this period, primary education in both countries encompassed ages six to fourteen. In Spain, EGB initially consisted of two stages (first stage: years 1 to 5, second stage: years 6 to 8) and three “cycles”: Initial (years one Spring 2024 53 Socio-occupational Representations of Women in Primary School Textbooks and two), Middle (years three to five), and Superior (years six to eight). In Portugal, Basic Education (Enseñanza Básica) was organized into two stages, each one lasting four years. These were known as Ensino Primário and Ensino Preparatório. For this study, we used as our reference year 6, which has its equivalent in traditional primary education. 23. The Anaya publishing house was a leader in the textbook market during the transition and was responsible for 28 percent of all titles published. See David Silva, Mercedes Muñoz-Repiso, and Maria Ros García, Los textos escolares de EGB: encuesta al profesorado [School textbooks in EGB: A teachers’ survey] (Madrid: INCIE, 1976). 24. In the 1970s, the publisher Porto Editora had a market share of educational books close to 50 percent. See Porto Editora, “Sobre nós – Historial” [About us: A history], http://www.portoeditora.pt/sobrenos/index/index/tema/ historial (accessed 9 June 2023). 25. Theo Van Leeuwen, “The Representation of Social Actors,” in Texts and Practices: Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis, ed. Carmen R. Caldas and Malcolm Couthard (London: Routledge, 1996), 32–70. 26. Theo Van Leeuwen, Discourse and Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 6. 27. Van Leeuwen, “The Representation of Social Actors,” 38. 28. Stefan Rädiker and Udo Kuckartz, Análisis de Datos Cualitativos con MAXQDA: Texto, Audio, Vídeo [Qualitative data analysis with MAXQDA: Text, audio, and video] (Berlin: MAXQDA Press, 2020). 29. Kimberly A. Neuendorf, “Content Analysis: A Methodological Primer for Gender Research,” Sex Roles 64, no. 3 (2011): 276–289, doi:10.1007/ s11199-010-9893-0. 30. Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen, “Front Pages: (The Critical) Analysis of Newspaper Layout,” in Approaches to Media Discourse, ed. Allan Bell and Peter Garrett (London: Blackwell, 1998), 186–219. 31. Van Leeuwen, “The Representation of Social Actors,” 32–70. 32. Ruth Wodak, “De qué trata el análisis crítico del discurso (ACD)? Resumen de su historia, sus conceptos fundamentales y sus desarrollos” [What is critical discourse analysis (CDA) about? An overview of its history, its fundamental concepts, and its development], in Métodos de análisis crítico del discurso [Methods of critical discourse analysis], ed. Ruth Wodak and Michael Meyer (Barcelona: Gedisa, 2003), 17–33. 33. Gastón Quintela-Dávila and Catalina Covacevich, Desigualdad de género: el currículo oculto en textos escolares chilenos [Gender inequality: The hidden curriculum in Chilean school textbooks] (Chile: Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo División de Educación, 2014). 34. López-Navajas, “Las mujeres,” 100–103. 35. Anthony Giddens, Sociología [Sociology] (Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1997). 36. Teresa Castro and Rui M. Ramos, “Childhood Represented in the Textbook: Types of Texts and Social Stereotypes,” Revista Brasileira de Educaçao 22, no.71 (2017): 1–21, doi:10.1590/s1413-24782017227177. 37. Ana M. De la Torre and Virginia Guichot, “Referentes literarios en los manuales escolares de la España democrática: diagnóstico del androcentrismo 54 JEMMS Virginia Guichot-Reina and Ana María De la Torre-Sierra mediante el Análisis Crítico del Discurso” [Literary references in school textbooks under Spanish democracy: A diagnosis of androcentrism through critical discourse analysis], Paedagogica Histórica 59, no. 1 (2023): 145–170, doi:10.1080/00309230.2022.2137817. 38. Costa et al., História de Portugal, 151. 39. Ibid., 201. 40. Ibid., 205. 41. Ibid., 182. 42. Ibid., 182. 43. Prats et al., Ciencias Sociales 6º, 12. 44. Ibid. 45. Ibid., 66. 46. Eugénio Brandão, “Estereotipos em manuais escolares: Esboço sociológico sobre a discriminação sexual nos programas de aprendizagem ada leitura” [Stereotypes in school textbooks: A sociological sketch of sexual discrimination in reading and literacy programs], Cadernos Condição Feminina 9 (1979): 3–53, here 25. 47. bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (New York: Routledge, 1994). 48. Stereotypes present in educational material influence feelings of self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-confidence, as well as the outcome of the expectations and interests of the pupils. In other words, they exert an influence on all of the basic components of the social cognitive career theory that guide pupils’ academic and professional choices, keeping many women from developing their full potential. These are the conclusions laid out in Jacquelynne Eccles’s expectancy value theory. See Robert W. Lent, Steven D. Brown, and Gail Hackett, “Toward a Unifying Social Cognitive Theory of Career and Academic Interest, Choice, and Performance,” Journal of Vocational Behavior 45 (1994): 79–122, doi:10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027; and Jacquelynne S. Eccles and Allan Wigfield, “Motivational Beliefs, Values, and Goals,” Annual Review of Psychology 53, no. 1 (2002): 109–132, doi:10.1146/annurev .psych.53.100901.135153. 49. Cristina Borderías and Lina Gálvez-Muñoz, “Cambios y continuidades en las desigualdades de género: Notas para una agenda de investigación” [Changes and continuities in gender inequalities: Notes for a research agenda], Areas: Revista Internacional de Ciencias Sociales 33(2014): 7–15, https://revistas.um.es/ areas/article/view/215881. 50. De la Torre and Guichot, “The Influence of School Textbooks,” 10–11. Textbook Bibliography Costa, Fátima, Pimentel Madalena, and António Marques. História de Portugal [History of Portugal]. Porto: Porto Editora, 1981. Prats, Joaquín, Castelló J. Emilio, . . . , and María Antonia Loste. Ciencias Sociales 6º [Social sciences 6º]. Madrid: Anaya, 1981.