Boys = Girls, mathematically, in equal societies

William Atkins
Saturday, 31 May 2008 19:51

Science - Biology

According to a May 2008 Italian-U.S. study, math scores for boys and girls are equal in countries with “gender-equal” cultures, but math scores for girls fall short in countries where females are not considered equal to males.

A gender gap in the ability and testing of mathematics has persisted for a long time, with boys receiving consistently higher scores in math over girls. A given reason for this supposed better ability has been a greater spatial awareness that is biologically inherent within their brains.

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.