UKMT maths competitions for girls are now for biological girls only

TrepidationOfTheSpheres · 2026-09-18T18:57:24+00:00

The UKMT have updated their website to clarify that the maths competition for girls, and the maths olympiad for girls, are now restricted to biological girls only. I actually hadn't realised that they used to allow self-identification in the past - I wonder how often it happened. I know there are those who says that there shouldn't be any need for a girls-only competition, as physical differences don't affect maths ability, but I think in a lot of schools, boys can still dominate, especially in extra-curricular maths that involve more discussion and confidence. Plus stereotypes that lurk even from primary school of boys being better at maths. I don't think boys that identify as girls would have had that same background, so I think it's worth having this sort of specific encouragement of girls. All the other competitions are open to children of both sexes. [[https://ukmt.org.uk/competitions/mathematical-competition-for-girls https://ukmt.org.uk/competitions/mathematical-competition-for-girls]]

ErrolTheDragon · 20/09/2026 08:59

The difference in uptake of subjects such as maths and physics in girls’ schools is always instructive re the social pressures which still exist in mixed schools.

DD commented to us after participating in various STEM challenges how in the teams they competed against, the boys would dominate in mixed teams with girls relegated to being assistants. She and her team would take particular pleasure in beating them!

Igmum · 20/09/2026 08:38

Good news that girls’ competitions will now be for actual girls. Maths was one of my best subjects in school and I remember giving it up because it was too easy and I preferred the challenge of subjects which didn’t have one right answer (I later discovered that this does happen at degree level in Maths). I also remember the very gendered language in problem phrasing. I used to love calculating the trajectory of a bomb falling on a town, but when it came to the trajectory of a cricket ball thrown by a boy (same calculation) I really couldn’t be bothered. I read later that this wasn’t just me and that many girls were put off by male-focused issues in problems.

ArabellaScott · 20/09/2026 08:05

'The EGMO acknowledges that non-binary people share many of the same experiences and challenges as girls and women.'

Do they, aye? Like the fuck what.

LeftieRightsHoarder · 20/09/2026 01:59

I agree, and my heart lifts at each little step back to sanity. Too bad that the rest of Europe is still bowing to trans ideology, according to some other comments here.

LeftieRightsHoarder · 20/09/2026 01:51

MrsOvertonsWindow · 18/09/2026 20:30

More good news. Slowly, slowly we're returning to fairness and including women in our own sport, organisations and spaces.

Yes. My heart lifts at each little step back to sanity.

1977thebest · 19/09/2026 21:34

PeachyDaisy · 19/09/2026 09:29

As a former maths teacher and a woman who loves maths, I hate girls only maths competition. It does feel pretty patronising and it seems to imply that girls are not capable of performing at the same level as boys (even if that was not the rationale for separating the competition). It's not a good look.

I very strongly disagree - as a woman and holder of an Oxbridge maths degree.

There has been lots of research which shows that societal expectations - most especially parents’ attitudes and the behaviour of peers and teachers in schools - negatively impacts the take up of maths and physical sciences by girls.

Girls shld be recognised, applauded and encouraged to overcome this blatant discrimination. The UKMT recognised this by setting up MOG in the first place. The fact that the current “woke” consensus in education overrode this to include boys who like to wear dresses was mad. I’m very glad that they have reversed this and I very much hope more girls will compete and succeed.

Go girls!

Original poster

TrepidationOfTheSpheres · 19/09/2026 20:43

It does.

And I think there are valuable issues that they could be addressing. These particularly competitions are at the very highest levels of school competitions in the UK, rather than the ones that are taken by large numbers of primary/secondary/GCSE level pupils. Even if there are some cultural stereotypes still happening at the younger years, there are large numbers of girls already engaging in those younger age competitions and enjoying/excelling at maths, and that seems to be less of the area of concern (at least so far).

The participants in the advanced competitions for girls are already achieving very highly to be entered in them, already studying at advanced levels and competing well in the usual challenges up to that age. And yet, there is still under-representation in maths courses and careers, at least at many institutions. So these competitions do seem to have been set up to try to bridge that gap - why girls who are clearly excellent at maths are still not choosing to study/compete/work in the field at the rates you might expect.

I'm not sure the challenges faced by gender-querying boys are the same challenges faced by girls who are considering and ultimately deciding not to go further in maths.
There are also computer/code/logic challenges set up for girls.

OP posts:

BackToLurk · 19/09/2026 20:08

TrepidationOfTheSpheres · 19/09/2026 19:50

Yes. Although it's not entirely clear from the regulations

Contestants must be female or non-binary. This includes transgender girls and women. The EGMO acknowledges that non-binary people share many of the same experiences and challenges as girls and women. In light of that, they are welcome as contestants.

When I read the first sentence, I thought maybe it was OK, female seems quite specific, and maybe non-binary was just trying to saying that non-binary females were OK too even if they didn't want to call themselves girls or acknowledge that they were female. But then the second sentence seems to contradict that - it's not clear whether they are including transgender girls/women under the category of female (which isn't what female should mean, even if you believe in gender), or under the category of non-binary (which isn't what those who identify as transgender would want, if they are actually males claiming to be girls/women, which isn't non-binary!). None of it really works. And then there's the statement about the 'same experiences and challenges', which seems very untrue to me. They might well have very difficult experiences and face lots of challenges, but they aren't the same ones as girls/women, particularly when it comes to the cultural stereotypes around maths. If the challenges they experience by having gender confusion issues do impact them in their relationship with maths and going into careers in this field, then perhaps there should be a specific competition set up to encourage that.

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Which brings us back yet again to the question of what issue the organisation imagines it is addressing

rockinghorsesarerealhorses · 19/09/2026 20:05

TrepidationOfTheSpheres · 19/09/2026 19:50

Yes. Although it's not entirely clear from the regulations

Contestants must be female or non-binary. This includes transgender girls and women. The EGMO acknowledges that non-binary people share many of the same experiences and challenges as girls and women. In light of that, they are welcome as contestants.

When I read the first sentence, I thought maybe it was OK, female seems quite specific, and maybe non-binary was just trying to saying that non-binary females were OK too even if they didn't want to call themselves girls or acknowledge that they were female. But then the second sentence seems to contradict that - it's not clear whether they are including transgender girls/women under the category of female (which isn't what female should mean, even if you believe in gender), or under the category of non-binary (which isn't what those who identify as transgender would want, if they are actually males claiming to be girls/women, which isn't non-binary!). None of it really works. And then there's the statement about the 'same experiences and challenges', which seems very untrue to me. They might well have very difficult experiences and face lots of challenges, but they aren't the same ones as girls/women, particularly when it comes to the cultural stereotypes around maths. If the challenges they experience by having gender confusion issues do impact them in their relationship with maths and going into careers in this field, then perhaps there should be a specific competition set up to encourage that.

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I'm pretty sure they mean they include boys who identify as girls ("transgirls") as female; and also both boys and girls who declare themselves as non-binary. I expect they are millimetres away from including any child who identifies as an irrational number.

Original poster

TrepidationOfTheSpheres · 19/09/2026 19:50

BackToLurk · 19/09/2026 11:11

Although it’s worth noting that if they compete at European level, they’re potentially back to competing against boys who feel like girls.

Yes. Although it's not entirely clear from the regulations

Contestants must be female or non-binary. This includes transgender girls and women. The EGMO acknowledges that non-binary people share many of the same experiences and challenges as girls and women. In light of that, they are welcome as contestants.

When I read the first sentence, I thought maybe it was OK, female seems quite specific, and maybe non-binary was just trying to saying that non-binary females were OK too even if they didn't want to call themselves girls or acknowledge that they were female. But then the second sentence seems to contradict that - it's not clear whether they are including transgender girls/women under the category of female (which isn't what female should mean, even if you believe in gender), or under the category of non-binary (which isn't what those who identify as transgender would want, if they are actually males claiming to be girls/women, which isn't non-binary!). None of it really works. And then there's the statement about the 'same experiences and challenges', which seems very untrue to me. They might well have very difficult experiences and face lots of challenges, but they aren't the same ones as girls/women, particularly when it comes to the cultural stereotypes around maths. If the challenges they experience by having gender confusion issues do impact them in their relationship with maths and going into careers in this field, then perhaps there should be a specific competition set up to encourage that.

OP posts:

dracn · 19/09/2026 18:54

adverteasing · 19/09/2026 18:34

Girls who are good at maths tend to be good at other subjects too. So, they are distributed across a wider range of subjects at A Level. Boys who are good at maths don't tend to the same good all rounders. This is one of the reasons maths is so boy-heavy at A Level and beyond.

I studied maths at a red brick over 15 years ago and the girls (very slightly) outnumbered boys on the course.

adverteasing · 19/09/2026 18:34

Girls who are good at maths tend to be good at other subjects too. So, they are distributed across a wider range of subjects at A Level. Boys who are good at maths don't tend to the same good all rounders. This is one of the reasons maths is so boy-heavy at A Level and beyond.

BackToLurk · 19/09/2026 11:11

Although it’s worth noting that if they compete at European level, they’re potentially back to competing against boys who feel like girls.

BackToLurk · 19/09/2026 11:09

This link has the latest stats regarding take up of further maths A level, computing and mathematical science degree applications. Boys significantly outnumber girls. If you acknowledge that boys are not necessarily better at maths than girls, then you have to also acknowledge that something else is going on, ie girls aren’t dropping maths because they’re no good at it.

Competitive maths aimed only at girls can help to increase female engagement at A level and degree level. That can only be a good thing.

https://royalsociety.org/news/2026/08/a-level-results-2026/

Original poster

TrepidationOfTheSpheres · 19/09/2026 11:08

PeachyDaisy · 19/09/2026 09:29

As a former maths teacher and a woman who loves maths, I hate girls only maths competition. It does feel pretty patronising and it seems to imply that girls are not capable of performing at the same level as boys (even if that was not the rationale for separating the competition). It's not a good look.

The competitions aren’t separated, though. This is just an additional competition to the various other mixed sexed ones throughout the year. Both boys and girls compete equally in those and girls often do well, but are still under represented in maths. Maybe fewer of them enter or participate in the clubs leading up to them etc. And fewer of them go on to the team challenges or the Olympiads. So this is just an additional one to encourage them.

but whether it’s necessary to have the extra competition or not, if you’re going to have a girls only competition, I think it should be clearly for biological girls, which it now is.

OP posts:

borntobequiet · 19/09/2026 10:29

Good news.

I’m a Maths teacher.

PeachyDaisy · 19/09/2026 09:29

As a former maths teacher and a woman who loves maths, I hate girls only maths competition. It does feel pretty patronising and it seems to imply that girls are not capable of performing at the same level as boys (even if that was not the rationale for separating the competition). It's not a good look.

Evolutionarygoals · 18/09/2026 21:06

SpottyAlpaca · 18/09/2026 20:49

I was pretty good at maths when I was a kid, I would have backed my mathematical abilities against any boy at my school. Running, no. Playing rugby, no. Maths, yes. And I would have considered any suggestion otherwise as patronising sexist crap.

It's not about who's good at maths though. It's about the stereotypes around who's good at maths and giving girls a space where they can be good at maths away from boys trying to dominate. It would be the same for boy's group for fibre arts or something. They're not intrinsically worse, but because of cultural mores they can benefit from a specific place to shine

rockinghorsesarerealhorses · 18/09/2026 20:57

Good for UKMT. I think this could be an area where boys identifying as girls was really distorting things. With overwhelmingly more boys engaging with the subject, and many of those not fitting masculine stereotypes, there's every chance a nontrivial proportion of "girls math club" was shy nerdy males wanting to identify out of societal expectations.

AimsAndObjectives · 18/09/2026 20:51

AimsAndObjectives · 18/09/2026 20:16

Consequently, our past practice of accepting entries by transgender girls to the girls’ competitions can no longer continue.

No such thing as a transgender girl.

It's a way for them to signal that they are doing this against their will.

SpottyAlpaca · 18/09/2026 20:49

I was pretty good at maths when I was a kid, I would have backed my mathematical abilities against any boy at my school. Running, no. Playing rugby, no. Maths, yes. And I would have considered any suggestion otherwise as patronising sexist crap.

adverteasing · 18/09/2026 20:39

I don't think anything other than biological reality would have happened in Tony's day.

RogueFemale · 18/09/2026 20:36

AimsAndObjectives · 18/09/2026 20:16

Consequently, our past practice of accepting entries by transgender girls to the girls’ competitions can no longer continue.

No such thing as a transgender girl.

OMG I missed that they were doing this.

MrsOvertonsWindow · 18/09/2026 20:30

More good news. Slowly, slowly we're returning to fairness and including women in our own sport, organisations and spaces.

AimsAndObjectives · 18/09/2026 20:16

Consequently, our past practice of accepting entries by transgender girls to the girls’ competitions can no longer continue.

No such thing as a transgender girl.