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"Girls Are Better at Math, But ...," by Maia Weinstock. Discover, September 2003.
The article quotes psychologists Jacquelynne Eccles and Mina Vida (at the University of Michigan) who propose that women are rare in mathematics-based fields like physics and engineering not because of fear of math but because of socialization. "The data [based on interviews and questionnaires] indicate that girls' math abilities outpace boys' through high school, but the girls eschew math-oriented careers because they do not believe such careers are valuable to society." Pamela Davis-Kean (codirector of Michigan's Gender and Achievement Research Program) suggests that girls have math ability (many go into the biomedical sciences) but that an earlier influence---parents---affects the value girls place on mathematics.
--- Annette Emerson
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