They find consistent evidence for biological differences in math aptitude, particularly in males’ advantage in spatial ability and in their disproportionate presence at the extreme ends of the distribution curve on math testsGo to Instapudit to find his take.
Or go to the original article, in The New York Times. Columnist John Tierney writes "Legislation Won’t Close Gender Gap in Sciences".
I am on the other side here. I have a daughter who is ABD in Math and two sons who are not even in the running, although one does have a JD and the other manages a big software program based on an Oracle product.
Regards — Cliff
♠ I would like to pillory Larry Summers, but it involves the US economy and not a suggestion that we look in all the dark corners of the question as to why women are not as present in Math and Science as men.
There are still some cultural aspects that may keep women back, it's being around nerds that keeps away.
ReplyDeleteOf Girls and Geeks: Environment May Be Why Women Don't Like Computer Science
"Cheryan set up four experiments involving more than 250 female and male students who were not studying computer science to look at possible reasons why the proportion of women in the field is dropping while the proportion of women in such disciplines as biology, mathematics and chemistry is increasing.
In the first experiment, students entered a small classroom that either contained objects stereotypically associated with computer science such as Star Trek posters, video game boxes and Coke cans, or non-stereotypical items such as nature posters, art, a dictionary and coffee mugs. The students were told to ignore these objects because the room was being shared with another class. After spending several moments in the classroom, the students filled out questionnaires that asked about their attitude toward computer science.
Women exposed to the stereotypical setup expressed less interest in computer science than those who saw the non-stereotypical objects. Men placed in the same situations did not show a similar drop in interest in computer science. Cheryan said this study suggests that a student's choice of classes or a major can be influenced by the appearance of classrooms, halls and offices."