While gender biases and stereotypes have been impacting girl child education, a study by UNESCO found that girls did better than boys in maths. The analysis was done through data collected from primary and secondary schooling in 120 countries.
It was found that in early childhood education, boys were performing better in mathematics but as they grew up, girls in secondary school, even in low-economic countries were doing equally well or better. In Malaysia, by the age of 14, girls were doing seven per cent better than boys in maths. In Cambodia, girls had a three per cent lead and in the Philippines, it was 1.4 per cent.
UN observed that even though girls are equally good and often better at maths, due to biases, there is an overrepresentation of boys and men, as they grow up, at the top of STEM fields. The study also found that even though girls score significantly higher in science subjects, they were less likely to opt for STEM careers.
Girls have been proving themselves to be excellent and intelligent in studies, as they were found to achieve greater proficiency in reading as well. In fact, in Saudi Arabia, 77 per cent of girls reached minimum proficiency in reading by the age of 9 or 10, against only 51 per cent of boys who did the same.
“Girls are demonstrating how well they can do in school when they have access to education,” said Malala Yousafzai, co-founder of Malala Fund, cited by UNESCO. “But many, and particularly the most disadvantaged, are not getting the chance to learn at all. We shouldn’t be afraid of this potential.
“We should feed it and watch it grow. For example, it’s heart-breaking that most girls in Afghanistan do not have the opportunity to show the world their skills,” Yousafzai added.
Manos Antoninis, Director of UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report said, “Girls are doing better than boys in reading and in science and are catching up in mathematics. But they are still far less likely to be top performers in mathematics because of continuing biases and stereotypes. We need gender equality in learning and ensure that every learner fulfils their potential.”