OVERCOMING MATH ANXIETY
Chapter 3. Mathematics and Sex:
Perceptions and Reality
The myth of a "male math gene" persists, and career data show women still avoiding math and the math-based fields in disproportion to men.
Of the 4.6 million US citizens employed in science and engineering, 30 percent are women, but the vast majority are in the life sciences and psychology, the less mathematical of these careers. Only 4 percent are employed in engineering, the same percent in physics - the most mathematical of the sciences.
Both sexes have the capacity for autonomy and independence. We know that. But we also know that little (and not-so-little) girls are often punished when they display too much moxie. There is nothing innately male either about succeeding in mathematics or about having a high tolerance for risks; our society, in one more effort to keep women down, simply declares these to be masculine.
It took me a long time to recognize that the crucial question
in assessing girls' attitudes and experience in mathematics was
not the simple "Do you like math?" or "Do you like your math teacher?"
or "Do you like your math class?"...
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