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Tracking the reasons many girls avoid science and math

physorg.com — Most parents and many teachers believe that if middle-school and high-school girls show no interest in science or math, there's little anyone can do about it. New research by a team that includes vocational psychologists at UWM indicates that the self-confidence instilled by parents and teachers is more important for young girls learning math.

Who dugg this? Made popular Sep 8, 2008

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  • weiwuwei, on 09/07/2008, -1/+34Interesting gap: 20% of graduates with engineering degrees are women but only 11% of engineers are women.
  • inactive, on 09/08/2008, -1/+29Talking Barbie told us that math is tuff!
  • MacBookForMe, on 09/07/2008, -4/+25Thanks Lenna! World society is loosing enormously because of old habits, cultural obstacles, prejudices, and old fashioned religious stands, considering girls and maths.
  • inactive, on 09/07/2008, -5/+24I agree-it is rooted so deeply in antiquated social values. It has to start at home with the parents. They need to make the effort and fight through their fears and preconceptions of math and science
  • kmeatball, on 09/08/2008, -1/+18They're busy engineering me a sammich.

    ...sorry I couldn't resist :o/
  • stephhicks68, on 09/07/2008, -5/+17I have always marveled at these statistics. In the 20 plus years since I graduated high school, it is disappointing that we have not made further progress in this regard.
  • inactive, on 09/08/2008, -6/+18Or maybe they just don't have an interest in math or science.

    /says the liberal arts major....
  • floort, on 09/07/2008, -3/+13Awesome story. Our family is good friends with Jill Tarter of SETI and she is an inspiration to girls interested in science. More teacher support is the key.
  • aereaus, on 09/08/2008, -2/+11Last remark, because I have to say it. I left the States because of the crap I encountered as an educator. I'm a former high school history teacher. The ***** I put up with would leave you dumbfounded. Especially in the wake of W. Shrub's No Child Left Behind Program. Which we dubbed, No Child's Behind Left. The US is not educating as much as warehousing children, especially in poorer areas. Ah hell, need to blog this. Peace!
  • inactive, on 09/08/2008, -4/+13MrBabyMan hires undocumented Mexican diggers to digg his stories at low cost
  • ligius, on 09/08/2008, -0/+8Are you a girl/woman? It seems so from the slightly misandric tinted comments you make. It's a man's world because there are certain attributes required to hold a high position. Those attributes are rather genetic (otherwise known as cojones) and are an integral part of a man's character, along with a big ego. Most women on the other side show a more sensitive character.
    I partly agree that women are not allowed into certain hierarchical positions because of deep-rooted preconceptions, but when speaking of a private company it doesn't really matter. He or she who is most suited for the job gets it.

    Regarding the article, there are statistically fewer girls inclined towards engineering. Some of my female colleagues from college share the same field of work with me. The others never really fancied becoming an engineer in the first place, they just pursuit it because of money, parents or some other incentive.

    L.E. So you are a man after all and a father above. Girls should not be pushed to learn math or physics, they need to discover the marvels, if it interests them. My g/f asks me all the time about how engines work, how stars appear and how to repair things, but that doesn't mean she is really into exact science as much.
  • pinkpackrat, on 09/08/2008, -0/+8No, but the boys do:-)
  • Darren07, on 09/07/2008, -3/+10Do they avoid Sewing and Cooking classes too?
  • Nerotique, on 09/08/2008, -2/+9It's not like I have a problem with women choosing math intensive fields, but I don't see anyone claiming there's a crisis because women dominate fields like language, psychology, and teaching. Sounds like more feminist "research" to me.
  • Sabretou, on 09/08/2008, -0/+7No, many girls have post-graduate degrees in Sammich Making.
  • scamper22, on 09/08/2008, -0/+6That's the statistic they should be focussing on.
    It appears they're good enough to finish an engineering program, but when they get into the field, they realize it's really not all that great. Lack of communication, long hours, underpaid, arrogant loners, one upmanship, layoffs, dealing with the cruelties of the business world ...

    All the while, they could just go to med school, law, nursing, teaching and make just as much money and be happier.

    The real problem we need to ask is why aren't men going to the above mentioned fields. If more men went into these fields, perhaps neccessity (job market) would force women into math/science fields :P


  • sparsely, on 09/08/2008, -0/+6that's what it's refferred to in england.
  • kirado4, on 09/08/2008, -0/+6Yes fantastic.. she's a role model to girls because they are of the same sex.. as opposed to being good at what she does regardless.. the usual epic fail of the females to understand that looking up to someone just because they are the same sex as you.. is a fools game. Here's hint.. it's what the person does and how they act.
  • inactive, on 09/08/2008, -2/+8Thinking gives you wrinkles.
  • retzed, on 09/08/2008, -2/+7All of these new-age feminist diggers really just want some chicks in their science classes.
  • sarchosis, on 09/08/2008, -1/+5I bet it's because of their cooties.
  • retzed, on 09/08/2008, -0/+5You guys appear to not be from North America.
  • Joab, on 09/08/2008, -1/+7Women, know your limits.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZwNGU
  • inactive, on 09/08/2008, -2/+6...Uh, I didn't do science or math. Although, I did score a 0 on that Brain Sex quiz that was on Digg yesterday.
  • mattlohkamp, on 09/08/2008, -1/+5it might only take a generation to fix the problem, maybe two, but people need to be conscious about it, and make an effort to correct our culture's concept of gender roles.
  • MacBookForMe, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4...not enough space...to long headline...Digg engine ate the 's' :)
  • ConfirmedCynic, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4Your premise is based on the notion that men and women are the same, and only social differences lead to differences in behavior.

    Sorry, but that's bunk. There's plenty of evidence that men and women biologically different, starting with how we use our brains.

    Forcing people into an unnatural social construct only makes them miserable.
  • poet, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4Don't forget about the "religious stands". lol
  • MrFurious2k, on 09/08/2008, -1/+5Didn't we see an article a few months ago stating that Women are now outperforming and out out-registering men in college? We're so concerned about the few fields that women aren't performing as well in that we're not recognizing that we may be creating new problems.

    The goal of any true equality should be to create a scenario in which a person of the same circumstances has the same opportunity to succeed in any field. If your goal is to just ensure there is a 50/50 mix, you’re doing it wrong. I don’t see too many people concerned that the majority of low paying, high risk jobs like mining are male dominated. Let’s focus on making sure that the opportunities for women are there. That means being supportive, encouraging, and open minded. That doesn’t mean freaking out if there aren’t more women engineers.
  • aereaus, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4Another front in the US/Britain language war. LOL
  • pe5t1lence, on 09/08/2008, -1/+5But some people would rather not work, and most people would rather not work in the sciences.

    Forcing kids (male or female) into these fields will not solve anything. You will end up with a very unhappy engineer, or a business major.

    Boys have been trailing in grades in math and the sciences lately, so I say this whole situation is due to personal choice, not lack of opportunity. Especially when you factor in the scholarships women can get to go into these fields, and that many engineering companies are constantly trying to hire more women to look less segregated, the problem seems less due to social pressures.

    And @ matt who are you to say we have a problem in our gender roles as a culture? Equality and opportunity is one thing, but having one unified gender is a completely separate topic. Basically, I could date the smartest most successful woman alive, but at the end of the day I would just like her to be a woman.
  • terminal157, on 09/08/2008, -1/+5God forbid we acknowledge that there might be real behavioral and cognitive differences between the genders that account for some of these things.
  • kirado4, on 09/08/2008, -3/+7Wow you are so sexist.. and you don't even know it. So many generalisations about boys and male teachers. Social skills are an important part of children's education too you know in class learning to work together. If teachers can't cater to each sex then they should either learn or quit there jobs. If girls are too intimidated.. oh shame poor them. .then they should be taught not to be so intimidated by teachers/parents etc. Only by confronting your fears will you overcome them.
  • truck87bp, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3If I was forced to learn the NEW Math, which I wasn't, I would shove the text book up my President's Ass for being so stupid. Our greatest Mathematicians today were raised way before NEW MATH.
    New Math needs to go!
  • aereaus, on 09/08/2008, -4/+7Hate to say it but classes need to be sexually segregated around the time of puberty ie..9th grade in the States, 8th here in Denmark. Keep the schools coed, but separate the classes. Boys tend to take over, we know this ;). Also male teachers for male students and female for female. It's the only way each gender will have a good chance. Because as a father of 4 kids, I want my sons and daughters to learn in class and not to spend that time playing social games, they can do that between classes.
  • ry4nsm1th, on 09/08/2008, -3/+7Too busy making me a sandwich.
  • SteeleJK, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3Agreed. All the opportunities are set up but female students just aren't taking the bait. If women who are interested in math and science have an equal chance at being educated and getting into those fields then that's all we need to worry about. Trying to balance the male to female ratio in math/science fields should not be a goal.
  • dstz, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3A The Economist article from a few months ago stated that women that do best in science still decide to choose non-scientific careers (such as law) more often than men do.
  • phillymozart, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3Why is equality always defined as women must become men and INCREASING women's participation in certain areas to the same as men. When will someone realize that this limited thinking still supports being Male as superior. True equality means that being a woman is EQUAL to a man, which evidently no one really believes.
  • macoafi, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3What's really fun is when you take that brain sex ID test that was up here recently, and you find that your brain doesn't fit your sex's expected stats. I'm a woman. I apparently have a guy brain...based mostly on all the spatial/engineering things they have in there.
  • PJBovoNox, on 09/08/2008, -3/+6You appear to have missed the 's' at the end of 'math'.
  • WoollyMittens, on 09/08/2008, -1/+4Since schools are designed to crush your spirit through unquestioned obedience, I don't think there's much hope for instilling confidence.
  • inactive, on 09/08/2008, -3/+6they tend to get stuck to the kitchen for some reason, hence the lack of interest in science and math
  • inactive, on 09/09/2008, -0/+2Maybe it's because science sucks. It's what I do and if I had kids who were interested in science I'd probably discourage them from it. The pay is ***** for the amount of work and the time required for advanced degrees, and nobody around you understands what you do or cares. Be a lawyer or MBA or some other useless ***** artist because society seems to appreciate it more.
  • bronxelf, on 09/08/2008, -0/+2I disagree. I think these classes are valuable, because they teach important life skills that sadly aren't being taught at home.

    It's ridiculous that children of either sex can become adults without ever learning how to cook their own dinner, sew on a button, or do their own damned laundry. Sewing, cooking, home ec. are *life skills* that have been sadly lacking in a whole lot of young people, both boys and girls alike. At a time where credit gets so many people in trouble, why the hell should anyone not be teaching/learning home economics, where you can learn how to balance a checkbook and create a reasonable household budget?

    That's not sexism. It's good sense.
  • tms8707056, on 09/08/2008, -0/+2My wife just graduated with a degree in Chemistry... now on to Pharmacy School...
  • Parkinsons, on 09/08/2008, -0/+2"Only by confronting your fears will you overcome them."

    ***** You, I'm not going anywhere near a spider.
  • Pake, on 09/09/2008, -0/+2Were you a member of the teacher's union? I only ask, because the idea behind NCLB is good, however the teacher's union were determined to make it fail from the start. It's like telling a student "You're going to screw up on this test" and not being shocked when they do, because you just destroyed any type of chance they had by crushing their confidence.
  • Pake, on 09/09/2008, -0/+2There is very little sexism in his post and there would be zero if it wasn't for saying "Boys tend to take over, we know this ;)" We know that boys generally learn better from male teachers and girls from female teachers, because there is in fact a difference in how we learn. Just telling a person how to teach a certain way isn't going to help them actually teach it, so claiming it's a problem with the teachers is wrong. Not to mention he's dead on about coed classes being more about showing off for your crushes instead of learning the material.
  • VigRoco, on 09/08/2008, -0/+2I am glad you think that the States puts a premium on Education, but why do you stay in Denmark if you are opposed to its military spending and Multi-Naitonal corporate tax cuts?
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