
The math gap - gnosis
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/math-gender.html
======
patio11
As a former member of the math team (among many other nerdy pursuits), I have
to ask the question that nobody ever wants to answer: is an academically
prepared girl with the ability to compete at the highest levels on math team
better served by competing on the math team (or the debate team, or the
scholastic bowl team)?

I mean, one could plausibly look at the statistics and say "Hmm, it seems like
the girls who are getting high scores on our math SATs are not bothering to go
for the geek cred and are, instead, merely maximizing their credentials via
easier routes such as making sure they get the A in English. This gets them
into marginally better colleges. There, they avoid geek cred paths like going
for a PhD in math and instead choose easier majors like business, where they
work less, earn more, and have more work/life balance. Confound all this
sexism! All genders should share equally in the underpaid, overworked, unsung
triumph that is being a graduate student in a field not one person in ten
thousand can even understand!"

~~~
barry-cotter
[http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/ppsc/2006/00000001...](http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/ppsc/2006/00000001/00000004/art00003)

"For example, in the SMPY cohorts, although more mathematically precocious
males than females entered math-science careers, this does not necessarily
imply a loss of talent because the women secured similar proportions of
advanced degrees and high-level careers in areas more correspondent with the
multidimensionality of their ability-preference pattern (e.g., administration,
law, medicine, and the social sciences). By their mid-30s, the men and women
appeared to be happy with their life choices and viewed themselves as equally
successful (and objective measures support these subjective impressions).
Given the ever-increasing importance of quantitative and scientific reasoning
skills in modern cultures, when mathematically gifted individuals choose to
pursue careers outside engineering and the physical sciences, it should be
seen as a contribution to society, not a loss of talent."

------
tokenadult
The study referenced in the article:

<http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/4298>

