Engineering &…

New research shows that gender disparity in math skills is due to culture, not biology

For as long as girls and boys have been attending co-ed schools, there has been a perceived gender gap in mathematical abilities that has seemingly led to a deficit in the number of women who will go on to study higher levels of math and to pursue careers in mathematically-related fields. This has always been attributed to an innate biological tendency of men to have the capacity to excel at mathematical reasoning, a tendency that was assumed to be lacking in women. However, a recent report from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison proposes that the reasons for this disparity are in fact purely cultural, suggesting that it may be possible for our society to lessen or even close the gap completely.

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Janet Mertz and Janet Hyde, two Wisconsin professors, were puzzled by the fact that a gender disparity in math skills is not present in certain countries and cultures, particularly those in which a large degree of gender equality exists. In analyzing data from various tests and studies of male and female students at various educational levels, �the Wisconsin researchers document a pattern of performance that strongly suggests that the root of gender disparity in math can be pegged to changeable sociocultural factors. Such factors either discourage or encourage girls and young women in the pursuit of the skills required to master the mathematical sciences.� In other words, society is the cause for any and all disparities in skill level, and the commonly held belief that women are less capable in mathematics is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Much of the evidence for the argument that boys are naturally inclined to be better at math stems from past studies that show greater variability in the skill levels of males, meaning that they are more likely to exhibit extremely high or extremely low skill levels in the subject. However, Mertz and Hyde prove in their research that this is not the case in some countries, several of which can boast of girls scoring in the 99th percentile in math skills at the same rate that boys do.

In the United States, girls are now performing on par with boys at all levels of math and are just as likely to choose advanced math classes in high school. Moreover, the gap is narrowing between the number of mathematically gifted boys and girls, suggesting that we are perhaps moving closer to achieving the results of those countries with a higher measure of gender equality. The number of female doctoral-level mathematics students has climbed to 30% from 5% in 1950, most likely a result of changing perceptions of the role of women in mathematical and scientific research.

Though hopeful, these results appear dim in comparison to statistics regarding gender disparities as well as overall mathematical skill level in other countries, particularly those of East Asia. Here, girls consistently reach the gifted level just as often as boys do, and both sexes exhibit median scores that are higher than those of the top ten percent of US students. In their report, Mertz and Hyde emphasized that �the future of the U.S. economy depends upon American society doing a better job of identifying and nurturing mathematically talented youth, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity.� Leaving women out of the equation will have devastating effects on the growth and development of the United States and will severely hinder our efforts at achieving global economic competitiveness with those countries which foster mathematical abilities in all their students.

For more information on this research, check out the article Culture, Not Biology, Underpins Math Gender Gap at ScienceDaily.com.

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