Studies on the content of gender stereotypes have been conducted primarily in the United States, while research in other, particularly non‐Western, countries is scarce. In this research, we assessed and compared the content of gender stereotypes and self‐characterizations in Germany—a Western European country—and Nigeria—a West African country. We asked 403 Germans and Nigerians to rate three target groups (either men in general, women in general, or themselves) on 74 agentic and communal characteristics. We found that Nigerian women were rated as more agentic and more communal than German women, while German men were rated as more communal than Nigerian men, but similarly on agency. On self‐characterizations, Nigerian men rated themselves as more communal than German men, but again similarly on agency; Nigerian women rated themselves as more agentic and more communal than German women. Within‐country comparisons showed that in Germany, men compared to women were perceived as more agentic but similarly communal when rated by others (and similarly agentic and communal when rating themselves). In Nigeria, men and women were perceived as similarly agentic, but women were perceived as more communal than men (by both others and when rating themselves). Further analysis on individual agentic and communal characteristics, however, showed important differences in stereotypes and self‐characterizations of men and women in both countries that were obscured when looking at overall agency and communion. Our results show that gender stereotyping of oneself and others is complex and highlights the impact of culture on people's perceptions of gender.

This cross‐sectional study examined gender differences between male‐ and female‐typed housework during the early COVID‐19 lockdowns in 2020. Participants in Germany, India, Nigeria, and South Africa ( N = 823) rated their housework share before and during the lockdown, then speculated about the division of housework performed by men and women in general, before and post‐lockdown. Women spent more time on female‐typed tasks and men (in Nigeria and South Africa) on male‐typed tasks before and during the lockdown. Irrespective of participants’ gender, they speculated that men's and women's housework was more pronounced post‐lockdown than before, but we only found gender differences in South Africa and India. Gender role ideology (GRI) moderated the gender‒housework relationship in Germany, but gender did not moderate the paid work hours and housework relationship in any country. Our findings suggest that gendered housework persisted in these countries and raises concerns that this pattern is likely to continue post‐lockdown.