The Gender Gap in Math: How to Encourage Girls to Embrace Math from a Young Age

Recent statistics show that men make up 70.6% of all math professors, while only 29.4% of that demographic are women. This gender disparity in math does not develop in adulthood; it begins when the women are girls. Sometimes, traditional ways of doing things make girls feel they are supposed to focus on homemaking instead of career progression. As a result, girls lean more towards home economics and healthcare courses, leaving math and other related subjects to boys.

Girls can learn, love, and have a beautiful career in math and math-related courses, but we must start by ensuring that they embrace math from an early age. Math learning websites have made math easy for kids, and parents can sign up their female children on those sites. Afterward, they can take the steps below to support their girls through the journey of learning and loving math:

Start the gender equality discussion now

Some parents want to wait for their girls to grow a little older and understand gender roles before explaining the stereotypical nature of the latter. This option might not be the best because by the time your daughter becomes a teenager, she may have learned some things that are difficult to unlearn. You have to start now to tell her that she can be anything she wants to be when she still sees the world as black and white and believes Santa Claus exists.

Girls should learn early that math is not for boys alone and that they can be good enough to chase it as a future career. When you do this, you help her think independently and fight societal stereotypes. Besides, starting early saves you the stress of teaching your kid the same things repeatedly when she’s older. All you will need to do is remind her of the things you have always taught her to arm her against traditional views that may limit the career potential.

Make math easy for her

One of the reasons your daughter will run away from math is because she finds it difficult, and you can do something about that. Instead of restricting her learning to the four walls of the class, you can sign her up for online math classes that offer fun and learning at the same time.

The more she enjoys math, the easier it will be for her to learn the concepts. The easier she finds math, the more she will want to chase it as a future career. So, teach her that math is not cumbersome and that there are multiple easy ways to approach a math problem. Let her learn that all she needs to understand is the formula, why it exists, and what purpose it serves, and math will become exciting.

Take her to math fairs and events

Do not restrict your daughter to just the school math; make her an active participant in all the math-related extracurriculars she can lay her hands on. The moment you sense a love for math in a kid, capitalize on it, take her everywhere math happens. Help her meet people in the industry and show how math will change the world.

You can also induct your child into a girls math club. She needs to see that by learning math, she is not just learning a subject; she is working at changing the world from her own small or big corner. This experience will make her more likely to maintain an active interest in the subject.

Be an active participant in her learning

Parents and teachers must live by example. If you want a math whiz, you must show how much you love math by checking her math assignments and sharing her study and game time. Let her see that you love math and draw from that love to cultivate a positive attitude towards the subject.

Remember that you are your daughter’s first role model; she looks up to you and mimics your actions. Therefore, if you shy away from math, you will give her a reason to do the same.

Conclusion

Bridging the gender gap in math between boys and girls must start from a young age. There are many more strategies that you can use to ensure that your daughter does not grow up avoiding math and its relatives because she assumes it is a male-dominated field. However, you can start with the strategies listed above. So, teach your daughter math to prepare her for a lucrative and life-changing future in math and sciences.