Leading educational publisher The Good Education Group is encouraging parents to adopt No Gender December by buying a boy a Barbie this Christmas.

The publisher is the latest in a long line of organisations supporting the movement, which hopes to banish gender stereotypes and encourage children to enjoy toys of any kind. The campaign began in 2014, and is supported by a range of social and educational experts.

CEO for The Good Education Group Chris Lester says he hopes the campaign can encourage parents to give their children the best present for them – whether that’s ‘typical’ for their gender or not.

“According to those behind the No Gender December campaign, the movement correlates with the perception that STEM (Science, technology, engineering and maths) are fields dominated by men and avoided by women, and just as toy stores typically separate ‘girls’ from ‘boys’ toys, workplaces tend to be sharply divided between ‘pink’ and ‘blue’ jobs,” Chris said.

“There’s an exciting new wave of gender-neutral toys designed to encourage more girls to develop fundamental skills in maths and science beyond stereotypes. It might not be a quick fix but getting behind No Gender December is a good start to redressing this imbalance”

However, No Gender December has received some criticism in the past. Former Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he wants “boys to be boys and girls to be girls”.

“I certainly don’t believe in that kind of political correctness,” he added.

But whether it’s a doll for a little boy, or a racing car for a girl, does it matter what your children play with as long as they’re happy? Give them a gift to boost their brain this Christmas, and everyone wins.