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Textbooks are not neutral. This is the case even in mathematics publications which are so abstract in appearance. Like any vector of socialization, they convey social norms, including those regarding the sexes. In order to verify this, the six textbooks of a Pan-African series used for primary teaching in French-speaking Africa were studied. All the characters portrayed were closely examined using a quantitative method applied to notions of gender and representation. Even in succinct texts or simplified illustrations there is a subtle build-up of the gender system that is acceptable, if not laid down by a society, thanks to different indices that depict the identities and roles of the sexes. This proves to be far from the ideal of “equality between the sexes”, advocated by the UNO’s Millennium Objectives or UNESCO’s Education for All scheme.