Do you know why men outnumber women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) professions? No, it’s not because they’re naturally more talented in those fields. According to a new study from Washington State University researchers, the reason is, women tend to accurately assess their math abilities while men tend to significantly overestimate their own.
It seems that the gap in math achievement between boys and girls doesn’t come from any effective difference in skills or interest, but rather from men’s own inflated self-confidence. A remedy to change women’s underestimation and bias in such academic fields is to provide them positive experience at a young age.
Picture: Margaret D. Foster was the first female chemist to work for the United States Geological Survey (Wikipedia, w/Effects)
