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You Go Girl … Into Math and Science
© Copyright DiscoverThisAs an undergraduate in the late 1960s, Patricia B. Campbell, Ph.D., was something of a pioneer. Unable to find an engineering program in New York State that would accept women, she decided to pursue a degree in mathematics. With only one other woman in the program, Campbell recalls, "We were still at that stage of, 'You're too cute to be a math major.'"
Thankfully, we've come a long way over the past four decades. Or have we? When Campbell joked with a group of female math majors a few years ago, saying, "At least you don't have to deal with 'You're too cute to be a math major,'" they laughed, she says, and told her, "No, now they say, 'You're too pretty.'"
While women have gained significant ground in the biological sciences – the number of female medical school graduates increased from less than 10 percent in 1970, for example, to nearly 45 percent in 2003 – the numbers of women pursuing degrees and careers in math-intensive fields such as physics, engineering, chemistry, and computer science remain far lower than their male counterparts. And the stereotype that boys are more capable than girls in math-related subjects remains strong.
That stereotype couldn't be further from the truth, says Campbell, a researcher who's been working to increase equity for girls and minorities in math, science and technology education for over 25 years. Statistically, she notes, high school girls take the same number and types of math courses as high school boys and achieve at virtually the same level. "So many people see math as something that's really not that good for girls and that not many girls do well in," she says. "We've done a really bad job of getting the message across to people about how few sex differences there are in math abilities."
What's The Big Deal?
Does it really matter that girls are less likely than boys to pursue careers in math and science? After all, there will always be girls, and boys, who just aren't interested in those fields. What matters, experts say, is not so much increasing the number of girls who become scientists or mathematicians but rather ensuring that both girls and boys have as many career choices and opportunities to succeed as possible.
Practically speaking, says Campbell, "there's a lot more money and job security in fields that demand or require a significant amount of mathematics." She cites fields like engineering, finance, physics, chemistry and information technology as examples. "Some studies have shown that having mathematics past calculus in college was a strong predictor of how much money you were going to make," she adds.
Monica Shah, Manager of Science and Technology for the Girl Scouts of the USA, agrees. "Some of the most lucrative and challenging careers involve science and technology," she says, "but large numbers of girls are being left out. Furthermore," she adds, "math, science and technology are the foundation for the modern economy and future development of society. Women certainly deserve to be and need to be involved."
Even if girls don't choose to pursue a career in science or technology, the value of a strong science background is immense. "It's less important that children decide to become scientists than that they increase their scientific literacy," says Shah. "Kids who have some basic knowledge and understanding of fundamental scientific principles and progressive thinking will become informed adults capable of sound decision making. Kids who enjoy science and develop critical thinking skills are likely to grow up to be adults who are confident about learning new technologies and general problem solving."
Math is equally important, says Campbell. "Independent of where you go with your career, a comfort in mathematics really helps you in so many different ways," she says. Having a basic understanding of finance, investment and taxes will benefit everyone, as will skill with patterning, estimation, and logic. "I think being afraid of mathematics is really dangerous to your future," says Campbell.
Nix The Negatives
If we want to encourage girls to become comfortable and confident exploring science and math, the first step is not to discourage them, says Campbell. All too often, she notes, parents and teachers discourage girls from pursuing math and science in subtle yet profound ways. "There is a tendency even for a teacher to see a girl who's really good in math and really good in language arts," she says, "to kind of focus more on the language arts." When parents are uncomfortable with math and science, as is often the case, it's natural for kids to pick up on that discomfort and become discouraged by it themselves, but it's important to break the cycle. "At Girl Scouts," says Shah, "we encourage adults to turn their own anxiety over math or science into a learning adventure for both themselves and their child."
Fun With Figures (and Scintillating Science)
The key – this might sound familiar – is to make math and science fun. While we've made good progress in getting high school girls to take math courses at the same rate as their male peers, says Campbell, "what we haven't done is convince anyone – but particularly girls – that this is kind of fun. They understand they have to (take math classes) to go on in life, but the idea that this is cool, fun and exciting and might even be useful to them, that's where we've fallen down." So how exactly do we make math and science fun?
It's relatively easy with science: Gardening, cooking, visiting a zoo or an aquarium, even taking a nature walk are all excellent ways for families to explore science together. For the Girl Scouts, making science fun has become a priority, with national and local programs focusing on a variety of scientific fields including engineering and technology. "We offer an engineering and design initiative that allows middle school girls to try hands-on engineering such as designing a sneaker and building a clock," says Shah. "Girl Scouts councils across the nation offer various science and technology experiences ranging from Internet safety and web design to robotics and rocketry." Many other organizations offer similar programs for girls and boys.
Making math fun, says Campbell, is a bit trickier. "I think it's harder to do math things in ways that make it fun for everybody," she says, "so it's not math homework, it's math playing." Puzzles and number games are a great way to engage kids in math play. Allowing them to spend a certain amount of money on a vacation or offering to pay interest on any allowance they save rather than spend can show them how math relates to their daily lives. Campbell is enthusiastic about number play, pointing to the current craze over the game Sudoku. A variation on Latin Squares (a long-time favorite with math teachers), the Japanese game of Sudoku is sweeping the planet with it's infectious combination of logic and number play. "In a lot of homes there are so many fun things that go on with literature and reading," she says. "That should happen in every home, but at the same time, I want those homes doing math things, too."
Progress Made, Challenges Ahead
When the president of Harvard University can seriously suggest that women might be biologically less capable than men to succeed in math and science – as he did at a January 2005 conference on diversifying the science and engineering workforce – clearly gender equality in these fields has not yet been achieved. But progress has been made. "I think it's important to both celebrate how far we've come," says Campbell, "and talk about the things we need to do." After all, both girls and boys will benefit from continued efforts to break down gender stereotypes in education and in business. "We are making real progress in terms of girls and boys being able to make better choices," she says, "choices based on what they want, choices based on what they're good at, as opposed to choices based on what other people think are appropriate for girls and boys. Hurray!"
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