In this article we present a theoretical discussion about the value of stereotypes as psychological constructs to comprehend and tackle, in a critical and transformative fashion, gender inequalities in education. Different aspects of education are analyzed, but there is an emphasis on the analysis of university education and academic work. Firstly, equality in education is discussed as a goal that has been traditionally simplified as equity, and then gender stereotypes are introduced as theoretical constructions increasingly studied and considered very useful, as they would be near the very symbolic bases of gender gaps in education. Gender stereotypes affect educational structures as well as the more subjective levels of the relation between gender and knowledge.