Understanding Math Gender Gaps by Grade Level and Race/Ethnicity: A Cross-Sectional Investigation

• In Event: Understanding the Antecedents of Gender and Ethnic Underrepresentation in STEM: Stereotypes, Motivation, and Belonging

Abstract

Objectives. Gender gaps in mathematics have significantly improved over the past few decades. Gender gaps in performance on standardized math tests have significantly decreased over time and are nearly non-existent (Cheryan et al., 2017). The male-to-female ratio in mathematics college majors is now 1-to-1, whereas the ratio in physics, engineering, and computer science has plateaued at 4-to-1 (Cimpian, Kim, & McDermott, 2020). Women are now better represented in mathematics than computer science and engineering. Sense of belonging is a key factor influencing students’ interest in pursuing math (Good, Rattan, & Dweck, 2012). Does this equal representation reflect girls’ positive sense of belonging in math? Are gender gaps larger for students from racial/ethnic backgrounds that are negatively stereotyped in math? Our main objective was to examine where gender gaps currently exist in young students’ sense of belonging in math for students from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Theoretical Framework. Our framework, Social Identity Theory, illustrates how gender and racial identity can negatively affect an individual’s interpretation of their experiences and sense of belonging (Rattan et al., 2018).

Methods and Materials. Participants were 1,180 1st through 12th grade students (10.3% Black, 12.3% Asian, 30.3% Latinx/Hispanic, 47% White; Mage= 13, SD=3.3). Of the sample, 49.1% self-identified as girls, while 50.9% self-identified as boys. Participants completed an online survey, with all items on a Likert scale from 1-6. For math belonging, students responded with their agreement to 3- items, α = .84, e.g., “I feel like I belong in my math class.”

Results. In elementary school, gender differences favoring girls were present in sense of math belonging among White students in 1st and 2nd grade, p=.02, d=-1.14, and p=.024, d=-.85, and Asian students in 1st grade, p=.023, d= -3.3, see Figure 1. In middle school, gender differences were present among White students in 7th grade, p=.017, d= -.74 (favoring girls), and Asian students in 5th grade, p=.037, d=1.5 (favoring boys). In high school, there were gender differences present among Latinx students in 9th grade, p=.02, d=.81 (favoring boys), and among White students in 11th grade, p=.032, d=-.73 (favoring girls). However, overall boys and girls reported an equivalent sense of belonging in math, see Figure 2.

Scholarly Significance. As researchers and educators, it is important to understand and share where gender gaps are present and absent as part of cultivating equitable educational systems in STEM. Although overall gender gaps in mathematics are small, gender gaps that do exist indicate a lower sense of belonging for White boys. In addition, gender gaps in math belonging vary depending on a student’s grade level and race/ethnicity. These results have implications for interventions to help continue to decrease existing gender gaps in STEM and inform us where those gaps continue to create inequity.

Authors

• Taylor Alexander

• Allison Master, University of Houston

• Sapna Cheryan, University of Washington - Seattle

• Andrew N Meltzoff, University of Washington