Educational Gender Gap
The age-old stereotype that girls aren’t as good at math and science as boys apparently is still plaguing this country, according to a report on CNN. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings is calling for a review on existing research to determine why girls are not as well represented in the sciences as boys.This well-known typecast, created by the gender divide and proliferated in pop culture by Barbie herself, causes me to ask why isn’t anyone making a stink about the below-par performance of boys in more social science focused subjects. To boot, is it so horrible that men and women choose certain professional paths based on what they’re good at versus what they were educated best in?
In today’s day and age, you’d think this country’s leaders would take a more double-sided approach to fixing the problems in our education system. Instead, they choose to fan the fire beneath a “problem” that should be stomped out, not relit.
In my high school, the math and science programs were phenomenal, so phenomenal that I entered college not having to take ANY math and maybe one or two classes of science. Yes, I was good at those subjects, but my career choices leaned towards what I’m good at: talking, socializing and analyzing, hence my lovely career in marketing. I’m definitely not saving the universe, but is it so horrible that I didn’t choose to become a biochemist?
I look around and I’d be hard pressed to find even five men that work in my division (even harder to find ones that play for “my team”). From what I can tell, men don’t do the world of communications very well…but I don’t have to tell you this.
We all know there are profound differences in how the male and female brains work. It’s seen every day, displayed in full force in everyone’s social and work lives. So let’s face it, there will never be a time when boys and girls learn in the same way.
Despite girls apparently sucking in math and science, here are a few other things we know:
- Women now out number men in college enrollees and graduate at higher rates
- Girls capture more academic honors, outscore boys in reading and writing, and score about as well on math at the fourth, eighth and 12th grade levels
- Girls out-graduate boys by rate of 72 percent versus 65 percent for boys
Perhaps she can start with funding public school programs properly. Perhaps she could work to foster quality teaching and balanced curriculums instead of worrying about standardized testing. Perhaps she could work to correct the public’s myopic view on females in the workplace, where we still make a percentage of the dollar that men do in the same profession. I’d say there are more constructive ways that Ms. Spellings can spend her time...and my tax dollars.
Why do girls lose interest in math and science? (CNN)
UF study explores why boys are falling behind girls in school (UFL News)
Choices at school lead to gender bias in workplace (The Herald, UK)
Boys Are No Match for Girls In Completing High School (NYT)
posted by Lisa @ 10:51 AM
2 Comments:
i had a bit to say about this some time ago, but i've since lost my train of thought. i'll read the articles later, but the first thought that came to mind was the resurgence of studies that came out last year (?) a few years back (?) about how students are taught in an already gender-biased mode, from an early age, regardless of how their playthings influence their thinking.
goes to show the HUGE gender gap seen in the hard sciences, and why especially with the L. Summers/Harvard fiasco of recent history brough more attention to this whole debate.
enough. i'm just happy that i can call myself a female scientist!
i am not insecure about my inabilities in the math and science area. i just don't care. i am good at other things. and the world is better for the fact that men run google, and women run everything else. did you see the article in the economist about google's hiring stratagy? placing a maths problem billboard to instigate a treasure hunt, eventually which gave the succesful hunter a website to submit their cv to? please let me never have to date one of them...
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