Women can do math, too
June 5, 2009
The gender differences in mathematical ability aren’t due to some innate shortcoming of the analytical minds of women, but simple sexism. According to a new study published in PNAS, the disparity in the performance of men and women on mathematical tasks can be attributed to sociocultural factors.
The data compiled in this study revealed that in the US, girls’ math have caught up to boys’ in terms of standardized testing scores at the grade school level. And while males are more likely than females to score in the highest percentiles, suggesting potential gender differences among the mathematically talented, these differences are not ubiquitous across cultures. In fact, the greatest discrepancies in performance between the sexes correlated with measures of gender inequality, suggesting that it is simply the result of sociocultural factors.
But things are looking up for women in math. Women now comprise 30% of math PhDs in the US, up from only 5% in the 1950s. Watch out, boys!
