Math is not for girls - you've got to be kidding!

Even in these times of equal opportunities, there are still subject areas which tend to be seen as being for boys. This is often the case with mathematics: while girls are more often credited with skills in music and languages, boys are increasingly assumed to have a gifting for math, science and sport. Evidence of prejudice? Perhaps. Whatever the answer though, it is reason enough for us to take a closer look at the issue.

Math and girls? A great combination!

Last year the coveted "Fields Medal" was won by a woman for the first time in history in recognition of her work in developing an important theory. This is the highest honor which can be attained in the subject, equivalent to a Nobel Prize in mathematics. After 52 male winners, Maryam Mirzakhani is the first woman ever to have been presented with this top accolade. She has collected several prizes during her career – as well as a professorship at the prestigious Stanford University.

Maryam is no exception and yet many girls (and boys!) have a chronic fear of "mathematics" on the timetable despite the fact that the basic skills and prerequisites are in place. Self-confidence is the only ingredient which is missing. In spite of impressive achievements, girls often fail to develop the necessary aplomb in math and tend to ascribe good grades to luck and bad grades to a lack of ability.

This is a shame but is more likely to be down to social and cultural factors than a gender-specific bias, because boys and girls perform comparably well in math. This is also confirmed by research conducted at Villanova University in the USA where scientists ran a comparison of almost half a million schoolchildren from 69 countries. The results showed that boys and girls performed equally well in numeracy.
Encouragement and role models are very important in enabling girls to learn to believe in themselves and to have confidence in their abilities.

Female math wizards

They do exist: famous female mathematicians whose findings are still taught today in schools. Two such eminent German mathematicians are Emmy Amalie Noether and Ruth Moufang.
Emmy Amalie Noether was born in 1882 and is credited for her major contribution in laying down the foundations of modern algebra.
Ruth Moufang came into the world in 1905 where she developed a great interest in geometry and actually became Germany's first professor of mathematics.
Now Maryam Mirzakhani has joined the ranks of the famous female mathematicians.

This all just goes to show that girls have nothing to be ashamed about when it comes to math.
Ready… steady… go and explore the world of numbers!