Countries with Higher Levels of Gender Equality Show Larger National Sex Differences in Mathematics Anxiety and Relatively Lower Parental Mathematics Valuation for Girls

Abstract

Despite international advancements in gender equality across a variety of societal domains, the underrepresentation of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related fields persists. In this study, we explored the possibility that the sex difference in mathematics anxiety contributes to this disparity. More specifically, we tested a number of predictions from the prominent gender stratification model, which is the leading psychological theory of cross-national patterns of sex differences in mathematics anxiety and performance. To this end, we analyzed data from 761,655 15-year old students across 68 nations who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Most importantly and contra predictions, we showed that economically developed and more gender equal countries have a lower overall level of mathematics anxiety, and yet a larger national sex difference in mathematics anxiety relative to less developed countries. Further, although relatively more mothers work in STEM fields in more developed countries, these parents valued, on average, mathematical competence more in their sons than their daughters. The proportion of mothers working in STEM was unrelated to sex differences in mathematics anxiety or performance. We propose that the gender stratification model fails to account for these national patterns and that an alternative model is needed. In the discussion, we suggest how an interaction between socio-cultural values and sex-specific psychological traits can better explain these patterns. We also discuss implications for policies aiming to increase girls’ STEM participation.

Parental Occupation and the Gender Math Gap: Examining the Social Reproduction of Academic Advantage among Elementary and Middle School Students

“…And sons and daughters with a STEM-employed father consistently score better on math tests, while mothers' STEM employment is relevant only for their daughters (not their sons). Our findings are different than those that emerged from a cross-national comparative study in which mothers' STEM employment was unrelated to gender differences in young people's mathematical performance (Stoet et al 2016). Our study is only based on U.S. data and focuses on elementary and middle school students.…”

“…Collecting additional survey data from an oversample of households with two STEM-employed parents would be especially helpful given the generally low representation of such families in the general population. And, of course, previous investigations examining the ecological (society-wide) antecedents of the gender math gap could be replicated for the U.S.-based ECLS sample by pairing aggregate-level indicators (e.g., state or county-level gender inequality measures) with survey outcomes (for a cross-national investigation using this approach, see Stoet et al 2016). Such an analytical approach would entail the use of multiple data sources and multi-level modeling techniques that are beyond the scope of our paper.…”

“…It is also possible that larger structural elements present within societies influence gender and math performance outcomes. Although counterintuitive, a far-reaching cross-national comparative examination revealed that having more mothers employed in a STEM occupation was associated with parental valuation of sons'-but not daughters'-mathematical performance; in that same study, societal gender inequality was not related to gender differences in mathematical performance or anxiety (Stoet et al 2016). Still others have found an inconsistent relationship between the gender math gap and greater societal gender equality in cross-national comparisons (Fryer and Levitt 2010).…”

Impact of biomechanics-based activities on situational and individual interest among K-12 students

“…The percentages of female (52%) and URM (20%) student group participants were generally consistent with the proportion of those groups in K-12 Wisconsin public schools (Wisconsin Public School Enrollment, 2015). The finding that boys had higher individual interest in engineering than girls is consistent with well-supported observations from other studies (e.g., Stoet et al, 2016). In a mixed-gender group of 761,655 fifteen year-olds from nearly 70 countries, Stoet and colleagues found that girls had higher anxiety toward mathematics than boys.…”

Gender equality in workplace: A case study of public sectors in Kurdistan

“…The writing on overseeing decent variety and uniformity is broad extending from wide investigations to top to bottom contextual analyses crosswise over different firms and businesses. Overseeing assorted variety and equity in the working environment is basic on the grounds that there remains an across the board open sense of duty regarding balance and decent variety which have been judged by various mentality overviews (Stoet, et al 2016). …”