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GENDER GAP

Girls Beat Boys in Science Worldwide, but They're Behind in America

Why aren't American girls doing better at science?

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by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

Image: The Situationist

15-year-old girls now outperform boys in science in most developed countries, but in America boys still do better. That's the outcome of a science test given to a sample of students from 65 countries.

The gender gap favoring boys is larger in the US than in any other countries tested aside from Colombia and Leichtenstein. By contrast, in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries girls did far better.

The results are concerning in part because relatively few American women go on to become scientists. Women make up around half (48%) of US workers, but only 24% of the nation's STEM workers. (STEM, of course, stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.) The US is suffering from an overall shortage of STEM workers, so it would make sense to encourage more women into those fields .

However, getting girls into science at school is only half the battle. In the Middle Eastern countries tested, girls did much better than boys in science at school, but that doesn't mean more women will have science careers. To give an extreme example, in Saudi Arabia 65% of students enrolled in science degrees in 2010 were women. However, only 1% of Saudi science researchers are women, vastly lower than the worldwide average of 30%.

Via NYTimes.
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What would persuade more girls to take up science?

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • Fishbone345
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    Actually Lady Gaga while strange is an intelligent woman. She writes her own music, plays at least 3 instruments if not more, and last I had heard she does her own costumes and hires friends that have been with her since the beginning to do her stageshow.
    How about less Ke$ha and more Sally Ride? Ke$ha is a horrible influence on young girls.

  • View all 22 replies >

  • u
    vws
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    Sad commentary about our way of life - noticed while I was teaching that girls and boys did equally well in math until onset of puberty - when girls began to "dumb down" to not compete with the boys. I tell all the women in my classes to rise to their potential and if the boys can't handle it - to find one that can!
  • PoliticalSpice
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    So true. I was visiting family. Went into a room for some quiet. Sitting there alone a few minutes before some of the girls in there young teens came in. They were chatting with eachother. I remember thinking how intelligent they were, but don't remember what they were saying. Ten minutes or so into there chit chat a few boys around there age walked in. All of a sudden they lost 50 iq points each. They became silly, giggly girls. They all knew too do so. It was shocking to witness. If I hadn't seen it...
  • PoliticalSpice
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    True. Also, you have an inti-intellecual culture developing, people who want to teach creationism instead of science. As opposed to mideast theocracies where they believe science matters.
  • falco_alba
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    @PoliticalSpice

    I have never understood why people insist on adhering to ideas that have long since been disproven. It makes no sense when we have evidence of evolution in everyday life. Creationism, in my opinion, is the mass's attempt to hold onto the belief that we are somehow special, that we are here for a reason, to hold onto the perception that we are a divine happening instead of an evolutionary instance. The sad fact is that what makes us special is the development of our frontal cortex, and even that didn't make us special. After all, it is widely believed that Neanderthals were smarter than humans, because they had bigger brains and more advanced skills when they existed. No, what makes us special is our unique ability to breed all year long, and with that, we have systematically wiped out species that might have been as intellectually capable as we are.

    Reality, however, is so much more depressing than the bloated image of what we believe we are.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @falco_alba Well there you have it, if what makes us special is the development of the frontal cortext, that explains why some folks lacking that development have a need to use creationalism to make em feel special :).

    Seriously, I'n not an atheist, but creationism is a bridge to far. I think its fine to teach it. In church, in bible study groups, at home. I think compulsory education, paid by taxes, should teach science. If they insist on the bible let em stick it in a class on lit, or section on comparitive religion, but it should be an elective. No one should be required to study anyone elses religion...
  • Denizen_Kate
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    Cheer up. Just these past few years I've been noticing a move toward a "geek panache" attitude. The science geek boys in high school are becoming more socially savvy, and the smartest girls, regardless of whether or not they are pretty girls, are beginning to be more appreciated for their grades and other scholastic accomplishments. I have great hope that the "bimbo" era is slowly ending.
  • texas_cutie75
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    Girls are being guided in being little princesses, nothing wrong with that, but we need to focus on reality a bit more. I never liked math or science until my 20's, now, being in nursing, I'm submerged in both, and love every minute of it!!
  • TDriver04
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    @thatgirl in order for there to be a debate you would have to actually be knowledgeable about your side. You've never proved that. All you do is harass people and troll on everyone's posts. You've proved that even futher by calling me a baby all because I said I didn't want to talk to u.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @thatgirl Stop saying mean things to him. It is a pointless news story cause he doesn't get the point. Maybe if a women explained it to him. To do so he needs to listen. He'll listen better if she's dressed in a bikini. If you'd done better in biology you'd know that. Another example of how women in america are uneducated in science. No wonder Neo is sad.

  • View all 17 replies >

  • DerivePI
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    I think we are missing the point here. The question is "Why are the men from cultures that subjugate their women so stupid?" Also, "Is Finland cheating or does cold weather kill the intelligently challenged?"

    " - Males and females showed no difference in average science performance in the majority of countries, including 22 of the 30 OECD countries. In 12 countries, females outperformed males, on average, while males outperformed females in 8 countries. Most of these differences were small. In no OECD country was the gender difference larger than 12 points on the science scale. This is different from reading and mathematics where significant gender differences were observed.
    • However, similarities in average performance mask certain gender differences: In most countries, females were stronger in identifying scientific issues, while males were stronger at explaining phenomena scientifically. Males performed substantially better than females when answering physics questions. Last but not least, in most countries more females attend higher performing, academically oriented tracks and schools than do males. As a result of this, in many countries gender differences in science were substantial within schools or programmes, even if they appeared small overall." - from the OECD PISA report

    http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/pisa200...
  • DerivePI
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    If we want to focus on gender gaps, lets look at reading. How can we encourage more men to get involved in reading?

    "Reading is the area with the largest gender gaps. In all OECD countries in PISA 2006,
    females performed better in reading on average than males. In twelve countries, the gap
    was at least 50 score points. In Greece and Finland, females were 57 and 51 points ahead respectively, and the gap was 50 to 66 points in the partner countries Qatar, Bulgaria, Jordan, Thailand, Argentina, Slovenia, Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia and Croatia."
  • u
    BelinKS
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    Science is my strongest point. I was in a scientific field. Right now I'm a stay at home mom, but I will be back! There's no reason for boys to be ahead of girls in science! One reason I heard from adults when I was a kid that was stated as fact was that boys were inherently better at math and science and girls were better at English, language and arts. That stereotype needs to be done away with! Young girls believe that when adults tell them that.
  • Buzzfriendly
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    Moms and dad before you grab the Betty Crocker Easy Bake Oven do your daughter a favor and get her a microscope instead. And depending on the age get your daughter Tinker Toys, Lego's, Lincoln Logs, Erector Set and a Radio Shack 75 in 1. And please lets stop with the push for a Betty Crocker Easy Bake for boys as well as we don't need to dumb them down in the process of lifting up our little ladies. If you want your kids to cook then enroll them in a cooking class or teach them yourself.
  • u
    cpeter133
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    There's nothing wrong with easy-bake ovens or learning to cook in other ways for either gender. Besides being a life skill, it can lead to a culinary career. Besides, cooking IS science--chemistry, physics, and other disciplines are involved. Watch "Good Eats" with Alton Brown.

    You want to improve kids' abilities? Stress the idiocy of "popularity" and focus on their individual strengths and weaknesses. Don't try to funnel them into something they don't have any desire for.
  • Buzzfriendly
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    @cpeter133 My reference to the Easy Bake oven was to demonstrate the symbolic effect in early childhood development. Children aren’t born with pre-dispositions that girls cook and clean and boys build and study things. Most of this is learned behavior which is established in our early years. Much in the same way racial prejudice, intolerance and religion are learned behaviors that children are exposed to at a very young and impressionable ages. We teach children at a young age either directly or indirectly to associate pink for girls blue for boys, girls play with dolls, boys play with trucks I am sure you get the idea. The point I am trying to make is that we need to better equip our children at an early age to give them the tools they need to be the best they can be.
  • Russell797
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    In addition to the segment of society who voice a disdain for science, which seems to be evident even on this site as I deal with them every day on here, attitudes need to change. Science is still pitted against religion in this country and that needs to stop if we are to encourage more girls and boys to pursue careers in science.
  • Dan_Tien
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    Why should boys try harder than girls at science tests when they know that the majority of science related jobs go to men? School test performance is irrelevant if your resume never gets past the round file.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    Yea, but at that agr I don't think that is the factor as to why they study. I think more likely influence by soceity about appropriate roles creates the trend...
  • Dan_Tien
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    @PoliticalSpice The society that influences girls to avoid scientific and technical studies is the same one that makes it difficult for the women who resist that influence from gaining employment in those fields and from excelling in them if they manage it. The head of the engineering department at the college my son attends is a woman who advises young women to avoid engineering as a career because of her own experiences with discrimination and harassment.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @Dan_Tien horrible to hear, but I understand. I used to advise people before filing employment sex discrim complaints to understand that although its illegal to be fired for filing them, that doesn't mean you won't be fired for filing them. That dept head isjust trying to let them know what they are getting into before hand so they can make the life altering decision fully aware of what they face. What is wrong with us as a soceity that these issues plauge us in the 21 st century?
  • Thunderchicken
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    Speaking from the perspective of a parent who has a daughter at a university of science and technology, she's thrilled at the prospect of a scientific career.(But she's a freak.) Her courses are very difficult and she could make better money with a different career. The way she puts it, science is just not an attractive career for most girls. It's difficult, often dirty and sometimes dangerous. What the solution may be, I don't know. I do know that if you want to be a chemical engineer, it isn't because you'll make a ton of money or enjoy comfortable working conditions. It's because you like it.
  • jaybebo84
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    The United States lags in almost all categories to most industrialized countries...regardless of subject...it is a lack of caring between the parents, children and teachers...honestly, teaching has to be the most thankless job next to being a soldier in the military or first responder...
  • jessejaymes
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    While I agree with those who say that girls are taught to "dumb down" around boys, there is another reason I think. Feminists. Am I the only to notice that feminists stereotype pretty women just as bad as the worst sexist chauvinist pig alive? Feminists claim they want equality for all women but then immediately about pigeon holing pretty women as stupid. That's simply not true. But I have seen feminist after feminist curl their lip and walk away at anything a pretty woman or a physically fit woman has to say.

    Feminists have literally taught girls that there are two categories of women. UGLY + fat = good. Pretty and slim = airhead. It's kinda self defeating for the cause of equality for women if women themselves refuse to admit half their gender to their cause isn't it?
  • u
    Realthinker
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    We could try allowing the girls to choose the branch of science that interests them. I found chemistry somewhat interesting in highschool, but more so now that I have become an artist and have a need to understand the chemistry of paints and pigments. I was very interested in meteorology in high school but was told I couldn't handle the math. I study meteorology on my own these days and became a trained storm spotter.
  • u
    Meanie
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    Because they are more concerned with fitting in, cosmetic surgeries, hair and make-up, clothes, cell phones, sending naked self photos and boys. Popularity is overrated. Put away the fashion magazines and concentrate on education. Romance and love come later. The boys only care about getting in your pants.
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