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| Gender Discrimination in Science: Where Does It Begin? |
| Although girls are equal to boys in terms of education, gender bias in science exists at all levels |
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You Jung Kim (seattleyj)  |
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Published 2008-12-13 12:38 (KST) |
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Lawrence Summers, former president of Harvard, once reaped public criticism over his remark that women lacked "innate abilities" in math, implying females lacked the necessary skills for the highest levels of science than their counterparts. Ironically, five years later, Dr. Janet Hyde of University of Wisconsin-Madison proved that boys are not more math savvy.
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FROM THE SECTION |
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| The researcher and her group pored over the data collected from the 2002 No Child Left Behind Program: the test scores of 7 million children across 10 states. Researchers had detailed personal data on the test takers and compared the average scores between boys and girls in various grades and between those with the highest math skills. No difference. From every angle, girls measured up to boys.
But the apparent lack of genetic disparity belies the fact that women lag behind men in the number of science professionals. Although women now earn 48 percent of the undergraduate degrees in math, they still face a huge gap in physics and engineering.
According to the Scientific American, women represented only 27 percent of those employed in science and engineering in the US. More specifically, women made up only 17 percent of professionals in the Engineering and Science Faculty at Rice University last year.
So if girls stand head to head with boys in math, then why do we see a large gap between the numbers of female and male science professionals?
Perhaps the most troubling answer is gender discrimination.
Cornelia Dean, a science editor of the New York Times, described one of her first experience on the job. At a dinner for science eminences, she overheard one of the nation's leading neurologist ask his colleagues, "Who is that new science editor, that twerpy little girl in short skirts?" Dumbfounded, she answered, "That would be me."
Although people treat this type of blatant gender discrimination as a cultural taboo in modern-day America, social scientists agree the overt sexism of the past has been replaced by unconscious sexism in the present.
In a 1992 study led by Professors Lee Jussim and Jacquelynne Eccles found that a teacher's expectation of a student's mathematical talent early in the year often predicted later test scores, despite the fact that the student's actual ability could have been at odds with the teacher's original expectations. These findings suggest that the common consideration of science as a "masculine" field could unwittingly set educators against girls as early as primary or secondary school years.
According to Janet Hyde, parents and teachers continue to believe that boys are simply better at math, and girls who grow up believing this erroneous myth tend to avoid higher-level math classes.
"It keeps girls and women out of a lot of careers, particularly high-prestige, lucrative careers in science and technology," she stated.
Despite all the progress that America has made for gender equality, we still have a long way to go, especially if we are depriving our girls something as basic and necessary as an equal chance in education.
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| You Jung Kim is a junior at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Washington. |
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©2008 OhmyNews
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