Equality Memory Game Professions

Quick Answer: The Equality Memory Game Professions is a matching-pairs memory game illustrated with jobs, designed to challenge gender stereotypes by showing that professions are open to women and men alike.

How the Memory Game Challenges Stereotypes

A memory game, sometimes called pairs or concentration, lays cards face down; players turn over two at a time and keep any matching pair. In an equality version themed on professions, the pictures show people at work, and games of this kind typically pair a woman and a man doing the same job: a female pilot with a male pilot, a male nurse with a female nurse. Finding a pair means noticing that the job is the same whoever does it.

Children form ideas early about which jobs are ‘for boys’ or ‘for girls’, and a simple game questions those ideas without a lecture. After play, the teacher can ask which pairs surprised the group and why, and invite children to talk about jobs they would like to do. The title reads like a translation of a French game name, and the listing does not give the number of cards or the professions shown.

The game also practises what any memory game does: concentration, visual memory, turn-taking and vocabulary, here the names of professions and what each one involves.

Classroom Uses

• Circle-time discussions about jobs and who can do them
• Early careers education in primary school
• Building vocabulary for the names of professions
• Small-group play in learning centres or during wet breaks

Playing and Storing the Cards

• Shuffle thoroughly and lay the cards in a grid every child can reach.
• Keep groups to about four players so waiting time stays short.
• Keep the cards dry and flat, and count the pairs back into the box after use.

Specifications

Why Choose LabEquip

Primary teachers and school counsellors look for simple activities that open conversations about equality. LabEquip lists this game with other classroom games in General Lab Products, and card details can be confirmed through the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the equality memory game played?

Cards are placed face down in a grid. Each player turns over two; if they match, the player keeps them and goes again, otherwise they are turned back. The player with the most pairs at the end wins.

What age group is it suited to?

No age is given in the listing. Matching-pairs games are commonly used from early years through primary school, and older pupils can use the pictures as prompts for a discussion about careers and stereotypes.

How does the game address gender stereotypes?

Where pairs show the same job done by a woman and by a man, players meet counter-examples to common assumptions, such as that only men are engineers or only women are nurses. Discussing the pairs afterwards reinforces the message.

How can teachers extend the activity?

Ask each child to choose a card and describe what that job involves, or to draw themselves doing a job from the game. Older pupils can research someone who works in a job that is less common for their gender.

Can the game be used for language learning?

Yes. The names of professions are useful vocabulary, and naming each card as it is turned over adds speaking practice for young learners or students learning a new language.

How many players can take part?

Memory games work well with two to four players per set. For a whole class, run several sets at once or play a large floor version with the teacher calling turns.

Last Updated: September 2026