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11 - The Gender Gap in Mathematics: Merely a Step Function?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Sophia Catsambis
Edited by
Ann M. Gallagher  and
James C. Kaufman
Sophia Catsambis
Affiliation:
City University of New York and U.S. Department of Education
Ann M. Gallagher
Affiliation:
Law School Admissions Council, Newton, PA
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
California State University, San Bernardino
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Summary

INTRODUCING THE PROBLEM

The gender gap in mathematics and science has been an issue of national concern since the mid-1970s because it is a matter of educational equity with far-reaching consequences for the lives of women and their families. As world economies rely increasingly on science and technological innovation, women's limited participation in mathematics and science can adversely affect their employment and economic opportunities.

To conceptualize the relationship between gender and mathematics performance, I turn to the field of mathematics and its terminology. At first glance, the mathematics gender gap appears to be like a mere step function, with male students performing better than females. However, for social scientists, this relationship is better expressed by a complex mathematics equation that includes a constellation of social, psychological, and biological factors. Research evidence from national and cross-national studies showing that the gender gap in mathematics has narrowed over the years and varies across countries, supports social scientists' assertion that this gender gap is rooted in a complex array of social-environmental factors (American Association of University Women [AAUW], 1998; Baker & Jones, 1993; Friedman, 1989; Oakes, 1990). This chapter reviews the contributions that sociological research has made toward understanding the complexity of the gender gap in mathematics.

In a literature review that put together decades of relevant sociological research, Oakes (1990) identified that the gender gap in mathematics test performance involves differences in three domains: opportunity, achievement, and choice.

Type
Chapter
Information
Gender Differences in Mathematics
An Integrative Psychological Approach
 , pp. 220 - 245
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2004

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