Gender Bent: Boys are Better at Math
Based on textbooks and faculty directories, it might seem natural that women are somehow less talented at math and science than men. Surely if women were equally talented, there would be just as many great women mathematicians in history and today, right? Not quite.
It’s actually cultural prejudices and imbalanced expectations that have long excluded women from careers in math and science. Even worse, studies show that lower expectations and negative stereotypes can actually lower women’s performance in these fields from a young age. Scientists have never been able to prove that men have a biological advantage in math, but the nagging cultural belief that that extra X chromosome somehow adds up to a lesser ability in math keeps girls from excelling in fields that are crucial to the future of our planet (not to mention very lucrative).
If the underrepresentation of women in math and science today weren’t bad enough, history also tends to leave women out of the story of great math accomplishments. In fact, women have been influential mathematicians, scientists, programmers, and more since the beginning of these fields.
Hypatia was one of the first women to significantly influence mathematics, teaching and studying math, astronomy, and philosophy in ancient Alexandria.
The first computer programmers were women, including Ada Lovelace, a British mathematician credited with conceiving of the first computer program in the 1840s.
Grace Hopper was one of the most influential early computer programmers, revolutionizing coding to reflect written language instead of just numbers.
Katherine Johnson broke barriers for black women mathematicians as a top NASA physicist and mathematician. Johnson literally calculated the flight path for NASA’s first mission into space, along with the Apollo mission to the moon and many, many other missions. Johnson is so amazing that none other than Taraji P. Henson will play her in an upcoming movie about black women’s contributions to NASA.
Today, women like Shaffi Goldwasser are working at the highest level of mathematics — Goldwasser is an award winning computer scientist who is known for her influential contributions to the field.
Bringing these women out of the shadows of history is one step towards breaking down the negative stereotypes that lead to the massive gender gap in math and science today. Closing the gap has nothing to do with biology and everything to do with encouraging girls to pursue math and science in the first place.
To learn more about gender norms, go to genderbent.lookdifferent.org
