By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
Girls are still lagging in the classroom when it comes to math – which has a big impact on tomorrow’s workforce, especially considering the important role the technology industry will play in the economy of the future. According to a recent study by the University of Washington, one potential culprit for girls’ underperformance is gender-stereotyping. Lead author Dario Cvencek explained, “Not only do girls identify the stereotype that math is for boys, but they apply that to themselves. That’s the concerning part. Girls are translating that to mean, ‘Math is not for me.'”
But why do girls believe that? It’s (hopefully) not as if their teacher is standing at the blackboard telling them that girls aren’t supposed to be good at math. Is it the media? Is it parents or peers? In fact, it’s likely a combination of these factors – and one more: themselves.
According to Joshua Aronson, NYU Associate Professor of Applied Psychology, stereotypes influence not only the expectations of the stereotype-holder, but they also impact individual performance as well. At the National Center for Women & Information Technology‘s 2011 Summit last week, he said, “intelligence is both fragile and malleable.” When it comes to performance and intelligence, context matters.
Arosnon explained that stereotype threat – merely the notion that one might “live up to” a negative stereotype – will undermine someone’s ability to perform at their highest capability. The fear of proving a negative stereotype true actually causes someone to underperform – and this can account for girls’ underperformance in math and science.
Fortunately, Aronson said, there is something we can do about it.