Children’s Commissioner Says Girl’s Like Math in 20th century

The Children’s Commissioner argues that fewer girls take maths not because they find it too difficult but because there are fewer female role models in the field. This could be because Maths has been seen as a ‘male’ subject for many years. Girls may feel discouraged from taking Maths if they feel they won’t be good at it or that it isn’t meant for them.

At the Confederation of Scool Trusts conference, de Souza , Children’s Commissioner of the UK, said that in her experience, girls do like Maths. She opened up to Sir Issac Newton, a Maths and science post-16 free school and the girls she spoke to talked about how much they loved Maths.

 

We must continue encouraging girls to take Maths to close the gender gap in many industries. Girls should feel confident that they can achieve anything they set their minds to, regardless of what society tells them.

 

“showing girls great Stem role models,” such as Dame Sarah Gilbert, the professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford who helped develop the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, and Dr Ritu Karidhal, a leader of India’s Mars space mission.

“I think there’s so much we can do to share why Stem careers are great, and girls are great at them,” de Souza said.

Birbalsingh’s comments to MPson the science and technology select committee – including her claim that “physics isn’t something that girls tend to fancy. They don’t want to do it, they don’t like it”.

De Souza said that part of the answer to getting more girls interested in Maths was “showing girls great Stem role models”. She gave the example of Dame Sarah Gilbert, the professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford who helped develop the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, and Dr Ritu Karidhal, a leader of India’s Mars space mission.

 

“I think there’s so much we can do to share why Stem careers are great, and girls are great at them,” de Souza said.

As A-level grades are released today, it is more important than ever that we continue to encourage girls to take Maths and other STEM subjects. Girls should feel confident that they can achieve anything they set their minds to, regardless of what society tells them. With more female role models in Maths and other STEM subjects, we can begin to close the gender gap in many industries.

 

This is an important issue to address, as Maths is a vital subject not just for academic success, but for future careers in many fields. If more girls were encouraged to take Maths, we would likely see a rise in women succeeding in male-dominated industries. This would benefit not just individual women but society as a whole.

If you’re a STEM teacher and hope to obtain an international qualification, check out the University of Derby’s IPGCE programme here.