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Education Math

Girls From Progressive Societies Do Better At Math, Study Finds (sciencecodex.com) 280

An anonymous reader writes: (edited and condensed)Research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has found that the 'maths gender gap', the relative under performance of girls at maths, is much wider in societies with poor rates of gender equality. Published on Monday in the American Economic Review, the research shows that the performance gap between girls and boys is far less pronounced in societies that hold progressive and egalitarian views about the role of women. The researchers analyzed the relationship between maths scores of 11,527 15-year-old living in nine different countries and the Gender Gap Index (GGI) in their country of ancestry. The GGI measures economic and political opportunities, education, and well-being for women. The researchers found that the more gender equality in the country of ancestry, the higher the maths scores of girls relative to boys living in the same country. The findings were significant and robust even when the researchers controlled for other individual factors that may affect youths' maths performance. In particular, the results show that an increase of 0.05 points (or one standard deviation) in the GGI is associated with an increase in the performance of girls in maths, relative to boys, of 7.47 points -- equivalent to about one and a half months of schooling.
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Girls From Progressive Societies Do Better At Math, Study Finds

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  • by kheldan ( 1460303 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @12:52PM (#52121405) Journal
    Non-progressive societies don't encourage girls to do things like science and math in the first place, they expect them to adopt 'traditional female roles'.
    • by myowntrueself ( 607117 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @01:00PM (#52121475)

      Non-progressive societies don't encourage girls to do things like science and math in the first place, they expect them to adopt 'traditional female roles'.

      Should do a comparative study of marriage stability as well!

      Perhaps women from such progressive cultures make terrible mothers and wives, perhaps men from such progressive cultures make terrible husbands and fathers...

      • by dywolf ( 2673597 )

        doubtful

        • by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 16, 2016 @01:12PM (#52121559)

          doubtful

          That's the beauty of the scientific method. It gives us a framework to actually test such things, so we don't have to rely on "well I doubt it, therefore you are wrong and we should not study this further".

          • by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @01:20PM (#52121639)

            This study already provides evidence that parents in progressive societies are better parents, because they are at least better at educating their daughters in math.

            Disclaimer: When my daughter was in elementary school, she placed 2nd in the district in the Math Olympiad, but now that she is a teenager, she thinks I am a terrible parent.

            • by narcc ( 412956 )

              but now that she is a teenager, she thinks I am a terrible parent.

              I'm not surprised. How many times has she pleaded with you to stop 'ruining her life'? How many times has she confessed that her 'life is over'?

              Those are some pretty dramatic consequences! You must be some horrible tyrant who 'never lets her do anything'.

              • by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @02:12PM (#52122225) Homepage Journal

                I'm not surprised. How many times has she pleaded with you to stop 'ruining her life'? How many times has she confessed that her 'life is over'?

                Those are some pretty dramatic consequences! You must be some horrible tyrant who 'never lets her do anything'.

                In the old days (not THAT long ago, say 20+ years back), this used to simply referred to as being a parent.

                A parent is NOT there to be a child's friend.

                I became great friends with my parents when I was in my mid-20's or 30's or so....but when raising kids, you have to sometimes be unpopular and be the rules maker and enforcer.

                • by narcc ( 412956 )

                  this used to simply referred to as being a parent

                  Obviously. Anyone who's dealt with teenagers has heard all of those things I've happily put in quotes. Every teenage thinks their parents are horrible and often say those very things when confronted with the typical boundaries their parents have set for them.

                  I thought it was pretty obvious, but judging from the moderation and the AC below, the intent has been lost. I assume it's because neither you or the AC below have any experience with kids that age.

            • by tnk1 ( 899206 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @01:54PM (#52122037)

              Define "better parent". Parenting skills probably don't hinge on whether a child is a math genius or not, but rather on the children being provided the opportunity to be functioning adults and to have the opportunity to excel at whatever they are interested in.

              • Parenting skills probably don't hinge on whether a child is a math genius or not, but rather on the children being provided the opportunity to be functioning adults and to have the opportunity to excel at whatever they are interested in.

                That's really true. Even beyond excelling at whatever they're interested in, I'm gratified that my kid grew up to be a kind, decent and generous person.

            • Disclaimer: When my daughter was in elementary school, she placed 2nd in the district in the Math Olympiad, but now that she is a teenager, she thinks I am a terrible parent.

              Welcome to being a parent of a teenager.

              My daughter went through a similar period. She listened to terrible music, ran with kids I didn't like, and basically accused me of being Hitler x (Stalin + Pol Pot). She's now about to finish up her PhD in Math and is a great person (due mostly to my wife, I think).

              As the father of a teenage gi

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by thaylin ( 555395 )

        In terms of evangelical conservative views, of course they make terrible wives and mothers, because they actually want to do something other than be in the kitchen or on their backs. Girls in those types of households are not going to do well at math because they are expected to learn specific roles, that do not include it.

        Personally I would take an engineering wife.

        • In terms of evangelical conservative views, of course they make terrible wives and mothers, because they actually want to do something other than be in the kitchen or on their backs. Girls in those types of households are not going to do well at math because they are expected to learn specific roles, that do not include it.

          Personally I would take an engineering wife.

          Half of your combined salary will go on childcare.

          • by unimacs ( 597299 )
            Unless your country is progressive enough that childcare is either free or highly subsidized.
            • by fche ( 36607 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @02:37PM (#52122439)

              ... then, if both parents are engineers, more than half their income will be taxed to pay for others' kids' kindergartening

              • by unimacs ( 597299 )
                Not exactly. For example, in Sweden it also goes to pay for health care, university level education, and other social programs while in the US much of that is coming out of your own pocket along with retirement savings. You could argue that it comes out even in the end or that maybe we even come out ahead in the US but that wouldn't be true. The average Swede has about 10% more disposable income along with about twice the amount of vacation per year.

                Along with that Swedish families get 480 days of parent
                • by fche ( 36607 )

                  My point was that for people who are bound to be at the top of the middle class payscales, they would be made to contribute far more to the state treasury than their own costs pull out.

                  If the GP poster had referred to a family of janitors, it wouldn't be so. But he/she said engineers.....

                  • by myowntrueself ( 607117 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @04:27PM (#52123453)

                    My point was that for people who are bound to be at the top of the middle class payscales, they would be made to contribute far more to the state treasury than their own costs pull out.

                    If the GP poster had referred to a family of janitors, it wouldn't be so. But he/she said engineers.....

                    The family of janitors would require at least 3 janitors working for every one child in daycare. It would be more effective to have one stay-at-home janitor and the rest working.

                    This is where things break down badly; the 'entitled', middle classes have so little idea how the low-end of the pay-scale lives they think their 'engineer' lifestyles give them some kind of insight into how society functions.

                    Poverty in places like the US and Canada is just fucking massively worse than the poverty in any European country, maybe except some Eastern European countries, the extreme ends of which which still wouldn't be as bad as the extreme ends of poverty in Canada. This is why Bob Geldof can criticize Canada for not being ambitious enough in its foreign aid spending; because he imagines Canadian poverty to be about the same as Irish or British poverty.

                  • by unimacs ( 597299 )
                    In a progressive country like Sweden, 70% of the workforce is unionized so your janitors are probably making a decent wage. The degree to which their benefits are subsidized by engineers and the like isn't as much as you'd imagine. And just because your dual engineer income family might be paying in at a high rate now, doesn't mean that they both will still be healthy and employed for the remainder of their working years. Crap happens and they may well find that they are getting out much more than they put
                    • by fche ( 36607 )

                      Oh sure, crap can happen.

                      But **on average**, by nature of the "progressive" taxation system, of course those at above-median income will have to pay more, probably far more, than they take out.

                    • by unimacs ( 597299 )

                      Oh sure, crap can happen.

                      But **on average**, by nature of the "progressive" taxation system, of course those at above-median income will have to pay more, probably far more, than they take out.

                      But not necessarily more than they'd pay on their own for the same services if they were only available from private providers operating for-profit businesses. The wealthier you are, the less that is true but I'm guessing that even engineers enjoy the added benefits of paid family leave and more vacation per year that the more progressive society provides. Even though I make a decent income, it would be a net gain for me if my taxes were 50 percent, but I didn't have to pay for my kids' college tuition, ou

                    • by fche ( 36607 )

                      "On average, a US citizen is going to pay more for health insurance than than they will ever get back in services"

                      Of course - and that is true of any type of insurance, anywhere. That's the whole premise of insurance. It can economically cover unpredictable perils, not routine ones.

                      "Another benefit from a more progressive society is there is less of a gap between rich and poor in the first place"

                      Why is that supposed to be good?

                      "so there is less need to subsidize"

                      Now wait a minute - don't these "progressiv

                • by jedidiah ( 1196 )

                  In the US, it's not being taken from you to begin with. You can also live off a single income if you're engineers. If both of you work, you can just bank the 2nd income.

                  Your claims are absurd. They sound like old Soviet propaganda.

                  • by unimacs ( 597299 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @05:39PM (#52123949)

                    In the US, it's not being taken from you to begin with. You can also live off a single income if you're engineers. If both of you work, you can just bank the 2nd income.

                    Your claims are absurd. They sound like old Soviet propaganda.

                    They aren't "claims". Those are the laws, policies, and the stats. You pay less in taxes in the US, but you're getting less in return and just having to pay somebody else (more) for those services. For health care, you're paying insurance companies and your paying with lower wages because your company is paying the insurance companies. Your either saving for your kids' college education or they're going into debt or both. Instead of the government managing a pension fund on your behalf, you have to pay into a 401K, IRA, or equivalent.

                    I guess if you consider health care, retirement savings, and college tuition for your kids to be optional expenses, then yes, you come out way ahead in the US.

                    I'm an IT director at a 100 person non-profit. I'm making a decent wage, but not a fortune. My wife works part time (less than 20 hours a week). We have what's considered to be an upper-middle class income. She was working very little when our kids were really young. So it's not like the lifestyle you're describing is foreign to me. But, by the time our kids get through college I'll be just a few years from retirement and I wish we were socking more away. We don't live extravagantly and we have virtually no debt. If 50+ percent of our income went to taxes and we didn't have to worry about health care costs, college tuition, or saving for retirement, I would take that deal.

                    I know lots of people my age and older that have virtually no retirement savings. 68% of working age people in the US are not participating in an employee sponsored retirement plan. Presumably some of them don't need to, but I'm guessing that's a small percentage. We are headed for a real crisis.

                    • I think the reason why so many in the US hate taxes and consider them to be fundamentally evil is that there is very low return in benefits. People in other countries that get benefits aren't as grumpy.

                    • They aren't "claims". Those are the laws, policies, and the stats. You pay less in taxes in the US, but you're getting less in return and just having to pay somebody else (more) for those services. For health care, you're paying insurance companies and your paying with lower wages because your company is paying the insurance companies.

                      The same is true for taxes. You pay more in taxes, meaning you have less income. Or corporations are taxed, so they have to pay you a lower wage, or have to charge a higher

                    • by unimacs ( 597299 )
                      Pension funds work roughly same way. A mix of past contributions, investment income, and current contributions pay for current retirees. It's not an account that the employee has with a fixed amount of money in it.

                      The free market depends on a level playing field which rarely exists (at least not for long) without collective bargaining and regulation, - and then it's no longer a free market. Then you have a mixed economy which I think is a reasonable solution.

                      If I win the lottery, I can consume more, b
                    • There was a study a while ago (more than 10 years) which pointed at a self-perpetuating circle in the USA:

                      People expect the government to be incompetent. This makes it hard to hire competent people for government jobs, because no one competent wants to work somewhere that is organisationally incompetent (if nothing else, it will make it hard for them to get the next job). This means that, in the absence of competent people, even the competent government agencies trend towards incompetence. This then lea

                  • In the US, it's not being taken from you to begin with. You can also live off a single income if you're engineers. If both of you work, you can just bank the 2nd income.

                    Your claims are absurd. They sound like old Soviet propaganda.

                    My wife can earn about the same as me. It's more efficient for her to stay home than it is for her to work. If she works part-time (20 hours/week normal for 1/2-3/4 of the year, 40 hours the remainder of the year) , then pretty much all of her income goes to childcare, we don't get to bank it. If she works full-time (40 hours/week for 1/2-3/4 of the year, 60-80 hours the remainder), then we still lose about half or more of her income between taxes and childcare, netting us a small amount; in the end, her ti

                    • by unimacs ( 597299 )
                      If daycare were free, what would your wife do?

                      My wife may have wanted to stay home anyway to be with the kids. She's lucky that she works in an industry where she can make decent money for part time work and she can take a few years off and still be employable. That's kind of rare.

                      There is a significant financial risk for women who do stay home. If something happens to their husband, - he dies or is no longer able to work, they're screwed. After a few years at home, it's going to be much harder to fin
                  • by Mr.CRC ( 2330444 )
                    Not in CA.
          • by thaylin ( 555395 )

            How so? The average cost is 11.666k per year.. That means we are only making a combined ~23k a year? Even at its highest, 18.773k would mean that 2 engineers are only making ~37k?

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Anonymous Coward

          Of course. You’re so enlightened.
          Except did you ever think that a woman would want to be a stay at home mother and raise her kids. Probably not, because you're so force fed progressive garbage that the actual wants of the woman are obsolete. It's a two ways street. Society currently force feeds woman that they need to be a working woman to be seen as strong and empowered, when some of the strongest woman I've seen gave of 6 figure jobs to raise their kids.

          I bet you'd like an engineering wife, then she

          • by thaylin ( 555395 )

            I am not sure what your statement has to do with the conversation. IF she wants to do that then it is her right, but generally a woman like that will be poorer at math...

            Also I am an engineer. I like intelligent people, I dont need a woman to take care of me, and I dont want a woman that I have to take care of. I want a partner not a slave.

            • You just stated that stay at home moms are "slaves". Good grief, how do you not see the horse crap spraying out of your head at this point? How do you breath through all the manure?

              TFA states that women are smarter in Math in progressive countries, but there is a missing fact that the majority of women choose not to work in STEM fields in those same countries. TFA is sporting a meaningless statement to support a positive progressive appearance, instead of the reality. People like you buy right into the

              • by jedidiah ( 1196 )

                I looked at that Gender Gap Index and I was intrigued where the ex-Soviet countries fell. They were VERY egalitarian but they rank poorly on that list. It really makes me wonder what's feeding that chart. These kinds of things often end up being highly skewed by a particular metric that may or may not be all that relevant. Examinations like this also tend to magnify the negative and ignore the positive.

                The whole thing seems meant to feed someone's ego and political agenda.

        • by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 16, 2016 @02:16PM (#52122251)
          Stereotype much? My wife decided to stay home. She isn't unfulfilled. Her main complaint with doing so is it makes it harder to afford things. I'd encourage her to return to employment if she wasn't finding fulfillment staying home, but I'm not going to tell her to go drudge away for a nicer car or a bigger house while she pines away at the time missed with the kids like I do. Society nor I should tell her that she has to stay home, but they can f#@$ off telling her how to feel if she makes that choice. Especially when the pressure on that choice is an attempt to draw twice as much profit from the things my grandparents had with just one salary.
          • by thaylin ( 555395 )

            Did she come from an evangelical family, where the gender roles are all but set? If not then what are you trying to counter?

          • Wow. No offense, but if you're pining for the time spent away with your kids, please go home and be with them. We want employees who are engaged, not pining.

            Love,
            Your company

        • In terms of evangelical conservative views, of course they make terrible wives and mothers...

          Until you realize that an Evangelical Conservative view a husband and wife are co-equals, differing responsibilities but equal and submissive to each other (Ephesians 5:21-6:4 [biblegateway.com] and Genesis 2:20-25 [biblegateway.com], among other places.)

          • Yeah, but it hinges on a twisted definition of "co-equals". What does that even mean? Either you're equal or you're not. "Co-equal" sounds like ACTUAL political correct bullshit to me.
          • by Mr.CRC ( 2330444 )
            Seriously, I'm an atheist and won't hesitate to criticize Christians' beliefs mercilessly in intellectual debate. But they are also people that I respect as human beings. The bigoted stereotyping here (by Progressives no doubt) is disgusting. But not at all surprising.
        • In terms of evangelical conservative views, of course they make terrible wives and mothers, ...

          I admit that I only know 4 evangelical conservative Christian families (which is probably dwarfed by the extensive studies that you've done); however, the women in the family tend to be well educated.

          Family A: Mom has a degree in nuclear engineering. She worked the field until she realized that the public school system was completely failing her kids. She home schooled them until they entered high school. Their daughter is now studying to be a vet.

          Family B: Mom has a degree in mathematics. She de

      • by TWX ( 665546 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @01:13PM (#52121573)
        I expect that things like divorce happen in progressive societies because we allow the individual to leave a marriage, and we allow either individual to make the choice.

        Societies that either do not let marriages end, or else restrict who can initiate such a divorce, or even societies where such a divorce is possible but where one party may end up without any of the resources gained during the marriage. All of these conditions either prevent divorce, formally restrict divorce, or otherwise make ending a marriage impossible or impractical.
      • by GuB-42 ( 2483988 )

        I think there is some truth in it.
        In societies with a high gender gap, women are typically taught to be good mothers when men are more career-oriented. This not only make good mothers but also keep couples together because there is a real necessity since they have different roles.
        In societies with a low gender gap both women and men do the same thing. And in western societies where career is often more highly regarded than families values, there will be more and more career women and less and less good moth

        • I think there is some truth in it.
          In societies with a high gender gap, women are typically taught to be good mothers when men are more career-oriented. This not only make good mothers but also keep couples together because there is a real necessity since they have different roles.
          In societies with a low gender gap both women and men do the same thing. And in western societies where career is often more highly regarded than families values, there will be more and more career women and less and less good mothers. Problem is, the reverse is not true for men : they are still expected to be career oriented rather than become good fathers. And because both parents can function independently, there is less insensitive for them to stay together.
          Just look at what kind of example we give for "progressive" societies : almost always career women, almost never stay-at-home fathers. This is not a progressive society, this is a productivity oriented society with little regard for the family.

          Indeed, just look at Japan with its non-progressive system and many stay-at-home mums with dads who spend an average 15 minutes a day with their kids... Thats not being a good dad.

      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Well, so what if? We really have outgrown the need to produce as many offspring as possible by now. This dirt-ball is overcrowded, and individual freedoms and growth rightfully is viewed much more important in progressive societies than producing the next generation.

        • Well, so what if? We really have outgrown the need to produce as many offspring as possible by now. This dirt-ball is overcrowded, and individual freedoms and growth rightfully is viewed much more important in progressive societies than producing the next generation.

          Yes, thats why the population of Muslims in Europe is growing and the population of native Europeans is shrinking. He who is represented in the gene pools of the future is he who has won. Freedom is irrelevant; live free, have no children, lose the future.

          We have children to colonise, dominate and exploit the future. The human race is on a journey, its supposed to be from the bestial to the superhuman. So long as bestial humans outbreed the civilised humans the future is lost, the human race is lost and ins

    • by sd4f ( 1891894 )

      That has an element of untruthiness to it, because it's noticed as a paradox that, as societies get more progressive and there's less gender 'inequality' in broader terms, women tend towards traditionally female occupations. Whereas, in countries that are deemed gender unequal, those places tend towards a lot more of a gender balance in traditionally male dominated fields, such as engineering.

      The explanation is, that in societies where women can do what they want to do, well, they do, they're uninhibited to

  • Helps boys too (Score:5, Informative)

    by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @12:54PM (#52121423) Homepage Journal

    There seems to be a correlation with boys doing better too. Of course correlation is not causation, but anecdotally teachers say that girls being more engaged in maths helps the whole class.

    • There seems to be a correlation with boys doing better too. Of course correlation is not causation, but anecdotally teachers say that girls being more engaged in maths helps the whole class.

      Reminds me of a few studies done some years ago on gender-segregated classrooms for math. Girls in "all girls" classrooms did better than girls in mixed classrooms. But boys in "all boys" classrooms did NOT do better (and in fact did slightly worse, if I remember correctly).

      At the time, I believe the study explanation was that girls (particularly at adolescent ages) tend to be more reserved in the presence of boys, so they didn't tend to ask as many questions when they were struggling in mixed classroom

    • by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @03:26PM (#52122877)
      I took my nephew to volleyball practice last week. There were only 3 boys in the class, and for whatever reason the instructors put them into their own group during practice. Their group performed the worst at practice - the three of them goofed off, fought with each other, didn't listen. The girls' groups OTOH went smoothly, with the instructor hitting the ball to a girl, her hitting it back, then moving to the end of the line so the next girl could hit.

      Then practice was over and they played a game. I was surprised to see that the boys were focused and played together well as a team. The girls meanwhile spent a lot of time talking with each other, and three of them ended up being hit by the ball because they weren't even watching it.

      It's just one anecdote so I wouldn't draw any conclusions from it. But I'm starting to form the opinion that girls do much better in structured educational environments where the kids sit quietly in place while the teacher dumps data onto them, while boys do better in immersive, chaotic trial-and-error environments where they learn by doing and experiencing. Unfortunately, it seems schools are busy eradicating the latter type of instruction in favor of the former.
  • On the other hand, the women from those societies are far better cooks relative to the men. And laundry... my whites have never been so white!

    • On the other hand, the women from those societies are far better cooks relative to the men. And laundry... my whites have never been so white!

      Yeah they should also see if theres a correlation between looks!

      The old song... "If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife!"

      "Man your wifes so ugly"
      "Yeah she's ugly. But she sure can cook!"

  • by Narcocide ( 102829 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @12:58PM (#52121457) Homepage

    Discover how hundreds of millions of women elevated their intellectual capacity beyond that of their stone-age ancestors using just this one weird trick [youtube.com] !

  • by jd.schmidt ( 919212 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @01:10PM (#52121535)
    I have seen the data, yes girls do better in math in progressive societies, relative to boys, but they also do better in language and all areas of schooling relative to boys. In other words, girls do better in school overall and of course one of the measures of a progressive society is how well girls do in school. Thus they found that in societies where girls do better in schools, they do better in math also. What people should ask is how to get the best performance out of boys and girls and which countries have found a formula for that.
    • Missed opportunity (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @03:51PM (#52123139)
      I was gonna post pretty much the same thing. It's pretty common that boys outperform girls at math, but girls outperform boys at reading. I assumed summary was just repeating an interesting highlight from a general study, and read TFA only to find out that was the extent of the study. I think it would've been more insightful to see if the boy/girl inequality in reading mirrored the pattern for math, or if it followed a completely different pattern.

      As any systems engineer can tell you, weighting one control function (affirmative action) can help return a system to a desired state more quickly (in this case, equality between boys and girls). But this by design creates an underdamped [hydraulicspneumatics.com] system which will overshoot [wikipedia.org] your desired state, or even arrive at a stable state offset from the desired state. You have to be ready to remove the weighting when the system begins to get close to the desired state so as not to overshoot, and allow it to quickly stabilize at the desired state.

      Unfortunately, that isn't happening. TFA is another example - taking one of the few (only) areas where girls still lag behind boys and highlighting it as something which needs to be corrected, while ignoring that girls have far exceeded boys in all other areas. There's always going to be some natural variance with any system. If you insist that one group in that system never lag behind another group, that's not going to result in equality. You're going to end up with a DC offset where that first group never lags because its average is so much higher than the other group's average. i.e. You're going to create a huge inequality opposite the one you were originally trying to correct. That's pretty much the state we're currently in, with girls far outperforming boys in all aspects of education [cbsnews.com] except math. These educational programs favoring girls should've been dismantled two decades ago (date on the CBS article is 2002).
  • No shit sherlock? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ilsaloving ( 1534307 ) on Monday May 16, 2016 @01:14PM (#52121587)

    If this were The Register, this article would have the no-shit-sherlock icon posted all over it.

    I bet research would further demonstrate that girls do better in pretty much everything, from STEM to driving, in more progressive societies. That's what happens when you don't treat females like cattle.

    • You DO need these studies because occasionally the data is completely the reverse of what common sense would dictate. This "cold mice don't loose weight" being a case in point :https://science.slashdot.org/story/16/02/19/2311250/study-mice-gain-weight-in-cold-temperatures-due-to-gut-changes

      However, when the results do so accurately match common sense, what we don't need is a news item. There is still truth in the "dog bites man" non-news.
    • by epyT-R ( 613989 )

      Western society does not treat women like cattle. That would be islamic countries, who, for reasons that make no sense, are still defended by the left despite their oppressive treatment of women.

  • Most commenters jumped to the same conclusion but that's not what the study says. This is a correlation, the arrow of causation can go either way. Maybe the smaller pay gap is the result of the smaller skill gap and not the other way around.

  • The GGI itself has built into it a education metric so that an element of education improves along with it isn't very shocking. However, there is also the matter of whether this is an actual improvement or not. This is a gap closing, not an overall improvement. That article is careful to add in the 'relative to boys' all the time, which could also happen by the boys getting worse scores, not the girls going up. Same with the GGI, it a gap measurement, not static comparison (and only a one way comparison
  • It may simply be a matter of expectations. Gartner recently presented a lecture about creativity at the workplace. The people who were the most creative in studies were the ones where there was a high expectation of creativity from them. I believe the same could be said for STEM as all of these areas require a high degree of creativity to be successful.

    In short, in a more developed more progressive society, girls are *expected* to do better at math, so they do. It is a case of people rising to a challen

  • Research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has found that the 'maths gender gap', the relative under performance of girls at maths, is much wider in societies with poor rates of gender equality.

    Shocking. Societies that let girls study math results in girls who are better at math. Who would have guessed?

    Did we really need a study to confirm this?

    • by tnk1 ( 899206 )

      No. We really didn't.

      However, I would love a big fat research grant to run a study whose conclusion is to pat myself on the back by stating something obvious. Therefore, I approve of this sort of study and wish to see more. I was also thinking of a study that shows that in progressive societies, females drive considerably better than those in say, Saudi Arabia. My conclusions and paper are already written, I just need some money and to collect a little bit of random data to make pretty graphs with to pu

  • SAT scores still show males performing better at math. This PISA test appears to only have data on kids at the age of 15. Which is unfortunate because that means the vast majority of girls are done with Puberty at 14, but a significant portion of boys that started puberty at 14 are sill in stupid puberty stage. Maybe if this test was done on a range of age groups and displayed the same gap, but no it's just 15 year old kids.
  • good (Score:2, Insightful)

    by argStyopa ( 232550 )

    Now, finally perhaps the SJWs will focus their ardor where it belongs: on improving the lot in life of the 2 billion women treated ACTUALLY LIKE SHIT, instead of trying to fix the (dubious) "hardships" women face in the developed world.

  • From wikipedia :

    The assumption is that women are strictly disadvantaged compared to men and as such, only measures where women are traditionally disadvantaged to men are used. Information about gender imbalances to the advantage of women is explicitly prevented from affecting the score.

    You can't get more biased than that.

    Ant the criteria are :

    Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment
    Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher level education
    Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures
    Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio. In this case parity is not assumed, there are assumed to be less female births than male (944 female for every 1,000 males), and men are assumed to die younger. Provided that women live at least six percent longer than men parity is assumed, if it is less than six percent it counts as a gender gap.

    The first 3 are fine but WTF about the 4th one. The situation here is better for women so let just bias the score... More importantly, one of the main reason women stay alive longer is because men tend to have more dangerous jobs, do more unhealthy activities and take more risks. In other words, the gender gap itself cause a pro-woman bias in life expectancy. The best country by GGI (Iceland) and the worst (Chad) have about the same d

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