Culture, not biology, might explain why females in some parts of the world don't perform as well as males in math.
That's the conclusion of an analysis of math performance in the United States and abroad that appears in the June 1 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
That's the conclusion of an analysis of math performance in the United States and abroad that appears in the June 1 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"There are countries where the gender disparity in math performance doesn't exist at either the average or gifted level. These tend to be the same countries that have the greatest gender equality," article co-author Janet Mertz, an oncology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a university news release.
The analysis, which looked at standardized test scores and related sources, detected a pattern in achievement based on socio-cultural factors that either discourage or encourage females at all grade levels to excel at math.
"If you provide females with more educational opportunities and more job opportunities in fields that require advanced knowledge of math, you're going to find more women learning and performing very well in mathematics," Mertz said.
The analysis, which looked at standardized test scores and related sources, detected a pattern in achievement based on socio-cultural factors that either discourage or encourage females at all grade levels to excel at math.
"If you provide females with more educational opportunities and more job opportunities in fields that require advanced knowledge of math, you're going to find more women learning and performing very well in mathematics," Mertz said.
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