Females are shite at Maths

[AutisticHedgehog]

According to a fucking hilarious Mumsnet cliche-meme on the FB feed.

FFS this is appalling. Why are Mumsnet of all places perpetuating the myth that girls can’t do maths.

I know plenty will say “lighten up, it’s harmless fun” but it’s not. It’s continual nonsense-shite that pervades and influences girls and their views that maths is a boys’ subject.

Maths is for everyone.

Shame on you MN.

[thebewilderness]

howitworks.png

[AdoraBell]

SIL has an A level in maths. Neither DH nor his 3 brothers continued maths.

[The3]

Can I pile in here, as I have a mighty fine pair of Oxbridge pure maths degrees, one for each X chromosome.

And I am shit hot at coding

[MrMeSeeks]

@Sparklingbrook i didn't notice the words right away either, i wondered what all the fuss was about!

[wrenika]

...I'd laugh at that. I'm a structural engineer, my maths skills are decent, but I'd still laugh cause I'd definitely pass the buck if my (hypothetical) kid asked me for help with any maths! I am definitely better at maths than my DP though.

[KateSheppard]

purist

"Did you mean to say "they have had a proper bollocking, a first verbal warning and are being sent for retraining"?"

That was exactly my thought. The response from Mumsnet seems rather superficial for an issue that perfectly illustrates the attitude keeping women from success in (or even entry to) some of the most lucrative and influential career fields of our day.

Perhaps there have been some suitably harsh words exchanged backstage. Perhaps.

[Mumminmum]

They had to be told they had got it wrong? Jeeez Mumsnet. For crying out loud! Don't you check things before they end up on your homepage?

[AssignedPuuurfectAtBirth]

Holy Crap.

That's pretty poor MN. 0/10 and a fuck load of lines:
Crap sterotypes do tend to piss off most women
Crap sterotypes do tend to piss off most women
Crap sterotypes do tend to piss off most women
Crap sterotypes do tend to piss off most women
Crap sterotypes do tend to piss off most women
Crap sterotypes do tend to piss off most women
Crap sterotypes do tend to piss off most women
Crap sterotypes do tend to piss off most women

[thebewilderness]

I used to get in trouble for "showing off" because making maths look easy embarrassed the boys.

[sexnotgender]

@fermatstheorem I wrote my dissertation on Fermat’s Last Theorem. Loved it!

[ThistleAmore]

Statistical analyst here waves who was told she 'couldn't do maths' at school, did an arts UG degree, but then retrained on her own time and dollar because she was - GASPS - actually very good at maths, complex logic and pattern recognition, just not that into teaching methods at the time.

STEMinists of the world unite.

[OutwiththeOutCrowd]

In the mid-range of ability, there is very little difference between men and women in mathematical competency. It’s unfair to suggest women are not as capable as men at helping their children understand fractions.

Having said that, the evidence does seem to indicate that in the upper tail end of the ability curve, as shown, for example, by performance in the maths SAT test in the States, males outnumber females, and the further into the tail you go, the more skewed the distribution becomes. This is a statistical tendency and does not reflect on the capabilities of an individual female but is certainly to be borne in mind - in addition to the undeniable existence of sociological effects - when considering the relative paucity of female mathematicians working at the highest level.

I say this as a female who likes maths.

[ThistleAmore]

@The3

Can I pile in here, as I have a mighty fine pair of Oxbridge pure maths degrees, one for each X chromosome.

And I am shit hot at coding

I think I might actually love you.

[gillybeanz]

I'm female and my dd is female, we both struggle with Maths.
This is because we have learning difficulties, not due to us having a vagina.
Several FEMALE friends of dd are shit hot at Maths, two of them are exceptionally gifted at Maths.

I hate sexist generalisations like this.
What hope do this and the next generation have if girls are told they aren't going to be good at something because of their gender.

[FermatsTheorem]

mrjoepike "as a sidebar my mom was not university educated ,but was a seamstress and designer(made her own patterns).math is essential in sewing.she taught me my fractions when i was 7.also learned to measure lengths and other mathmatical things..used what she taught me when i became interested in creating fabric dyes(chemistry).and weaving fabric."

I'm also an amateur seamstress and dress designer - and I reckon it takes similar skills in visualising geometry and curved surfaces to those needed for general relativity!

[noblegiraffe]

It should say ‘go ask Mumsnet, where a lot of women with a variety of maths qualifications will be delighted to help you’.

[AssassinatedBeauty]

@OutwiththeOutCrowd that is so not relevant to this issue. The apparent difference in ability at the lower and upper end of the ability curve is irrelevant. Primary school maths is well within the capability of the vast majority of people, men and women.

[TeenTimesTwo]

noble

[OutwiththeOutCrowd]

AssassinatedBeauty, I made that point at the start of my post!

[The3]

ThistleAmore loving you right back

[Hamiltoes]

I got the highest grades in my day release college class through work in "maths for engineers"- 91%.

I'm shit hot at maths. When we'd all finished our apprenticeships I (and several others in my year, all male) were putting proposals together and our now retired manager told me maths degrees are only for the brightest and perhaps I'd do better choosing something a bit less challenging? Two of the students with penises got funded for the maths degree.

I wonder if the old cunts hacked mumsnets facebook?

[NoNarnas]

Maths degree and teacher here too.

In my year 12 class I have 2 girls and 8 boys, in year 13 it’s 1 girl and 7 boys. However the girls in both years are outperforming the boys!

[AssassinatedBeauty]

Yes, @OutwiththeOutCrowd, which made me wonder why on earth you felt it necessary to continue with it. Seriously, it's like you just couldn't resist making it very clear that women are deficient in mathematical ability in some way. Very important we all know that. Men are the geniuses, women know your place.

[KateSheppard]

OutwiththeOutCrowd

Research also demonstrates that women perform worse than men in maths exams … due to being told they are innately more shite at maths than men.

www.reuters.com/article/us-maths-girls/girls-do-badly-at-math-when-told-boys-better-study-idUSN2242207920070524

www.newscientist.com/article/dn10333-negative-stereotypes-make-women-worse-at-maths/

archive.news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2015/03/stereotype-threats.shtml

[Waddlelikeapenguin]

Well I only have a Chemistry/med chem degree but I love maths. Someone mentioned the maths of sewing upthread & that's how I use maths most of the time (apart from with my kids - HE x3) . Either drafting patterns to make a 2d net of the 3d object or planning out patchwork.

Really disappointed in you MNHQ