The gender gap in maths-related fields could be determined by girls’ superior reading skills, which leads them to favour humanities-based professions. That is the conclusion of an analysis carried out by researchers in France of the reading and maths performance of thousands of high-school students from around the world.
Previous research has shown that while girls and boys have similar abilities in maths at school, a gender gap persists in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects in further education. Women are therefore less likely to pursue STEM careers, especially in maths-intensive subjects such as physics.
A girl that is good at maths but even better at reading may feel less confident in maths and may favour humanities because she perceives herself as a verbal person
Thomas Breda
In the latest research, Thomas Breda from the Paris School of Economics and Clotilde Napp from the Université Paris Dauphine looked at test scores of 300 000 15-year-old students in 64 countries from 2012. The data came from the Program for International Student Assessment — an international assessment of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science that takes place every three years.
Breda and Napp found that while girls and boys have comparable scores in mathematics, there is significant differences in their reading scores. Female students who are good at maths are more likely to be even more proficient in reading than their male counterparts. The analysis shows that two-thirds of boys have higher scores in maths than reading, compared with just one-third of girls.
Reading between the lines
Breda told Physics World that this results in girls having a comparative advantage in reading and boys having a comparative advantage in maths. “Our interpretation is that students make comparisons of achievement in maths and reading to reach conclusions about their ability in a given field and to make educational decisions,” says Breda. “A girl that is good at maths but even better at reading may feel less confident in maths and may favour humanities because she perceives herself as a verbal person.” Gender gap in physics among highest in science
The researchers claim that these differences “can explain up to 80% of the gender gap in intentions to pursue maths-studies and careers”. They add that the contrast in reading and maths ability between 15-year-old girls and boys “is likely to be determined by earlier socialization processes”.
Breda says that their results support the idea that the gender variation in comparative maths and reading advantages is linked to social pressures and cultural norms. “We observe that the gender gap in comparative advantage at 15 years old is larger in countries where the stereotype associating maths with men is stronger,” he explains. “We cannot fully prove it, but gender differences in abilities for maths and reading at 15 years old and in turn the gender gap in maths-related fields can be entirely driven by social pressures and stereotypes.”
