Girls, on the other hand, are known for their better ability to read, supposedly because of their naturally better verbal recall skills.

However, U.S. finance professor Paola Sapienza led a group of Italian and U.S. researchers to determine if this gender gap is actually valid (thus, due to natural biological differences) or is, instead, a product of social conditioning (thus, how they are raised in society).

They studied whether a gender gap exists over the world in the area of mathematics.

The investigation was performed to better understand the relative importance of biology and societal culture on the development of basic mental abilities in the use of mathematics and science.

The Sapienza team analyzed data from over 276,000 children, age fifteen years, spread out over forty countries. Each child took the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for 2003.

The PISA test is an internationally accepted assessment in the ability to perform the subjects of reading, mathematics, and science.

To measure gender-equality (and gender inequality) the researchers used four measurements: (1) the 2006 Gender Gap Index (GGI) by the World Economic Forum (WEF); (2) the World Values Survey by the World Values Survey Association; (3) the percentage of women who were eligible at age fifteen years or older to work in a country’s labor force; and (4) the WEF political empowerment index (which measures the percentage of women and men in government positions).

What did the researchers find out about boys, girls, and math ability worldwide? Please read on.