Why do girls believe boys are smarter at age 6?

Luchen Peng
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

What can parents to do to promote gender equality.

The internal memo by a former Google employee commenting on gender bias and diversity policies blasted the internet and rekindled many discussion regarding gender in technology industry. The discussion of gender in tech industry has raised a lot of concerns in Silicon Valley.

Why is there such a huge gender gap in technology and STEM related fields?

A study by Science Journal found that at age 5, children seemed not to differentiate between boys and girls in expectation of “really, really smart” — childhood’s version of adult brilliance. But at age 6, girls were prepared to lump more boys into the “really, really smart” category and to steer themselves away from games intended for the “really, really smart” [1].

What happened between age 5 and age 6?

The study shows that girls are attributing good grades in math to hard work for girls, but natural ability for boys. At such a young age, girls are internalizing those cultural messages and made to believe that they can work hard but they may never be as smart as boys. In early ages of a child’s development, children learn from role models. And in most cases, they learn from their parents.

As a girl, I was one of the few girls in my computer science class and upper level math classes. When I was a child, I remembered believing that math and computers are for boys, and ballet, painting and arts are for girls. Luckily, my parents were open-minded and progressive, and they encouraged me to pursue science and math.

Gender stereotype goes both ways. It not only expect girls to be interested in arts related subjects, it also pigeonholes boys to be only playing with computers and legos, to be tough and not show feelings. Stereotypes harm every child’s self discovery and identity forming path.

Early childhood education is essential in forming gender identity and intelligence recognition. We cannot wait until girls are in college and it is time to choose a major to affirm that they are very smart and encourage them to follow their passion. We have to start early. And yes, as early as 5 years old.

Next time, when your 5-year-old daughter wants to go to a robotics class, or engineer class, let them, encourage them and convince them that they are “really, really smart” and equally hardworking. When your 5-year-old boy cry and express concerns and worry, hear them out, they don’t need to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Only in a world were there are gender equality can children have the freedom and the confidence to be who they are and discover who they want to be. And all of this starts with you, because parents are the child’s best teachers, and because you are raising the next generation leaders.

If you want to discover more programs that gives your child an unique opportunity to discover their interests and passion, join our community today!

Footnotes:

[1] Science journal, http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6323/389

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Luchen Peng

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Articles and insights on childhood education

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