Gender, Mathematics, and Science

Abstract

Males have greater access to science and technical fields and greater earning power than females. Many argue that cognitive and psychosocial gender differences explain these career differences. In contrast, evidence from meta-analysis and process analysis indicate that (a) gender differences on cognitive and psychosocial tasks are small and declining, (b) gender differences are not general but specific to cultural and situational contexts, (c) gender differences in cognitive processes often reflect gender differences in course enrollment and training, and (d) gender differences in height, physical strength, career access, and earning power are much larger and more stable than gender differences on cognitive and psychosocial tasks. These trends imply that small gender differences in cognitive and psychosocial domains be deemphasized and instead that learning and earning environments be redesigned to promote gender equity.