A new University of Chicago study refutes speculation about whether lower female participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields would be linked to some inborn male superiority. The purpose of the research was to test whether girls and boys show different mathematical abilities during the early years. And the answer is negative; actually, boys and girls share similar skills in early number understanding and any differences are likely learned later.
According to the authors of the UChicago study: “Across all stages of numerical development, analyses consistently revealed that boys and girls do not differ in early quantitative and mathematical ability. These findings indicate that boys and girls are equally equipped to reason about mathematics during early childhood." No major differences in numerical processing were found between both genders and all kids are equally able to reason about mathematics from the start.
Picture: Arcanys Early Learning Foundation
