Girls’ comparative advantage in reading can largely explain the gender gap in math-related fields

Abstract

Gender differences in math performance are now small in developed countries and they cannot explain on their own the strong underrepresentation of women in math-related fields. This latter result is however no longer true once gender differences in reading performance are also taken into account. Using individual-level data on 300,000 15-y-old students in 64 countries, we show that the difference between a student performance in reading and math is 80% of a standard deviation (SD) larger for girls than boys, a magnitude considered as very large. When this difference is controlled for, the gender gap in students’ intentions to pursue math-intensive studies and careers is reduced by around 75%, while gender gaps in self-concept in math, declared interest for math or attitudes toward math entirely disappear. These latter variables are also much less able to explain the gender gap in intentions to study math than is students’ difference in performance between math and reading. These results are in line with choice models in which educational decisions involve intraindividual comparisons of achievement and self-beliefs in different subjects as well as cultural norms regarding gender. To directly show that intraindividual comparisons of achievement impact students’ intended careers, we use differences across schools in teaching resources dedicated to math and reading as exogenous variations of students’ comparative advantage for math. Results confirm that the comparative advantage in math with respect to reading at the time of making educational choices plays a key role in the process leading to women’s underrepresentation in math-intensive fields.

Math and language gender stereotypes: Age and gender differences in implicit biases and explicit beliefs

“…Though, at first glance, our results might not appear consistent with gender disparities in STEM careers, they are revealing in that they support recent theoretical frameworks suggesting that girls opt out of math, not due to perceived deficit in math ability compared to boys, but due to perceived strength in language ability over math ability. For example, a large international study of 15-year-old students found that girls' comparative advantage in reading as opposed to math can largely explain gender disparities in intentions to pursue math-related careers [64]. In that study, girls who were found to be good at math were more likely than boys to be even better at reading than at math.…”

Men, Women, and STEM: Why the Differences and What Should Be Done?

“…Second, among the minority of people who possess exceptional mathematical abilities, the women are more likely to possess exceptional language abilities as well. This means that mathematically gifted women have more vocational options than their male counterparts, and consequently that fewer mathematically gifted women end up pursuing a STEM career (Wang et al, 2013; see also Breda & Napp, 2019). To the extent that this explains the gender gap in math-intensive fields, the gap results not from mathematically gifted women having fewer options, but rather from them having more.…”

Gender differences in the pathways to higher education

“…Across the wide range of tertiary fields, from the arts to engineering, reading fluency, and comprehension are critical to the preparation for and success in all of them (e.g., textbooks, examination questions, or coursework instructions). The advantages of girls and women in reading competencies have been well documented (5)(6)(7)(8)(9) and are observed in all developed nations where they have been measured (10). Importantly, this gender reading gap is not a new phenomenon (5,11), and thus cannot fully explain the more recent underrepresentation of men in tertiary education.…”