The gender gap in maths-related subjects is obvious. In almost all countries, far fewer women than men choose STEM(理工科)careers.
It's not that girls and women are bad at maths. In the UK in 2019, for example, 39% of 18-year-old girls who studied maths at A-level achieved an A or A*, compared to 42% of boys. For A-level physics, 29% of girls achieved the top two grades, compared to 28% of boys. But in both subjects, boys heavily outnumbered girls-by more than 3:1 in the case of physics. So why are so many girls turning their backs on these subjects?
A study published recently in the journal PNAS suggests that the answer may in fact lie in male-female differences in academic ability, but the ability in question is reading, not maths. Thomas Breda, at Paris School of Economics, and Clotilde Napp, at Paris Dauphine University, wondered whether this male-female difference in reading could help explain the gender gap in STEM careers. Every three years, hundreds of thousands of 15-year-olds in more than 60 countries take part in the PISA study. Students complete tests in maths, reading and science, and answer questions about their future career intentions. When Breda and Napp looked at the data from PISA 2012, they realized they were on to something.
"There were small gender gaps in maths performance at 15 years old, but these gaps were too small to explain the huge gender segregation(隔离)in STEM," says Breda. But for reading, the tables were turned; the girls were much better than the boys. As a result, when a boy and a girl had similar scores in maths, the girl usually had an even better score in reading.
When Breda and Napp compared each student's scores in reading and maths, they found the greater a student's advantage in reading, the less likely they were to plan a career in maths, even when their maths score was also high. Notably, this was true for both boys and girls.
"It makes a lot of sense," says Sarah Cattan, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. "It shows that what matters most when boys and girls choose their field of study is not how good they are in maths or in reading, but how good they are in maths relative to reading."
4. What do the data in Paragraph 2 show?
A.The average gender difference in maths performance is small. |
B.Those who are good at maths are also good at physics. |
C.Physics tends to be easier for girls than maths. |
D.Girls are not better than boys at maths. |
5. According to Breda and Napp, who is most likely to plan a career in maths?
A.Tom whose maths is worse than reading. |
B.Lisa whose maths is better than reading. |
C.Lily whose reading is better than maths. |
D.Jack whose reading is as good as maths. |
6. According to Sarah Cattan,what do students value much when making further study choices?
A.Their comparative strength instead of absolute ability. |
B.Their gender advantages in a specific academic field. |
C.Their future job landing possibility in an industry. |
D.Their particular interest in a certain subject. |
7. What is the best title for the text?
A.Why are we drawn to STEM careers? |
B.Are boys worse at reading and writing? |
C.Why are girls bad at maths-related subjects? |
D.Are good readers more likely to give up maths? |