Girls don't like hard math

[2New]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10759687/Fury-tiger-head-claims-female-pupils-shun-level-physics-dislike-hard-maths.html

Katharine Birbalsingh, founder of the Michaela Community free school in Wembley claims that girls can't be bothered with advanced maths 😂.

Ms Birbalsingh, chairwoman of the Government's Social Mobility Commission, said: 'I just think they don't like it. There's a lot of hard maths in there that I think they would rather not do.'

When pressed on why girls would not want to do harder maths, she added: 'The research generally … just says that's a natural thing... I don't think there's anything external.'

AIBU to think that Ms Birbalsingh is talking rubbish?

This is (one of the reasons) why I'm a fan of girls' schools

Maths is second only to physics
Guess I am not female then

My daughters maths teacher worked hard to build my daughters confidence in maths

He won ( and she succeeded splendid ) but somewhere before him she had been given the idea that it was too hard for her

I love hard Maths, always have. I am a mathematician with postgraduate and professional qualifications. I also know lots of other women who are similar.

This kind of thing makes me so so so so so angry. She is taking that attitude into the schools with predictable results.

How is she an expert in education and mobility and saying this?

That could be put so differently
"More boys than girls choose hard maths but the girls who choose it do just as well"
Recognises there is probably a gender bias but doesn't make it a blanket statement.

My Dniece got dissuaded from doing maths A level by her school, not (AFAIK) because she is a girl, but because it's a hard subject, so she is less likely to get a top grade 🙄

She didn’t know anything about what she was being asked and should have declined the interview.

Why was she invited to be interviewed by MPs on this at all? Her subject wasn’t science. Head teachers don’t understand the content of A levels they don’t teach - why would they?

Rather than focus on the ignorance of what she said, can we ask why MPs couldn’t find any actual specialists to interview on the subject of diversity in science?

Why do politicians / the press always call on the same talking heads? Were MPs satisfied that interviewing Katharine Birbalsingh was a productive use of their time? Are they now any closer to understanding how to boost diversity in science?

She's explained what she actually meant on her Twitter account.

What tosh. Tell that to my DD who got 3 9s in Maths subjects at GCSE and likely to get an A at A Level.
Ok she did avoid Physics A Level but that was because she had other subjects she wanted to do more.

She isn't. She is an expert in self publicity and enriching herself.

For those of us not on Twitter, can you screenshot? Has she been misquoted?

If you read the thread, a previous poster has put the link to the video of her actually saying this.

....and you don't need to be registered with twitter to see it.

Much more interesting question is what on earth you are doing reading the Daily Fail, and, if that were not bad enough, quote from it and trying to discuss it.

OP linked to the DM, but I heard this on R4 last night - it's been widely covered. However, OP's DM link is good - it covers her comments in a critical way and gives a voice to some leading women who know exactly what they're talking about to counteract what she said which is exactly what they should be doing.

The Mail publishes misogynist shite on a daily basis and I don't deny that. However, weirdly, they are also the feminist's friend at the moment as they've been one of the first newspapers to recognise the harm genderism is doing to women, and to platform actual sex-based feminism and feminists. Yes it's bizarre, but something is changing, and that's why you will see an article like this in the mail now, while the Guardian mainly focuses on trying to tell us men can be women.

I don't think it's wise to write off any newspaper. Keep an eye on them all.

I don't like hard maths. I don't see the point of it either, I knew early on that I wanted to do a job involving words and not complex maths such as engineering. I wouldn't like to extrapolate from this that is applies to all women and girls, but you may as well say something like "Boys don't like studying" as they don't do as well at school as girls.

I went to an all girls school and loads of us did “hard” maths and science. Most girls are put off by disengaged staff who pay more attention to the boys or use analogies and activities aligned with boys interests (this is what I’ve heard from school age girls interested in stem). It’s so sad that a co-Ed environment can put people off. Wonder what the Girls Day School Trust (GDST) would say in response!

Ok, the film clip certainly has her saying those words but has she offered a different explanation on Twitter?
@orangeisthenewpuce

ah, Birbalsingh, yes ,um...

she's an ideologue. she's not a scientist, she probably didn't like math herself since she studied (?taught?) French & something else not-science.

Most ppl don't like hard math. Unless she's saying girls don't have resilience to work hard at things but boys are more determined and resilient. Which is daft. I'm baffled, honestly. What was she trying to achieve with this comment.

DD decided against math degree because it wouldn't be challenging enough. <shrug>

This. DD1 went to an all girls school and does Design Tech A-Level (the old metalwork and woodwork). When I went to a co-ed school, it was very much still seen as a boys' subject, the teachers were all men and focused on the boys. I'm not sure that she would have favoured this subject had she gone to a mixed school.

@Lemondrop2 and others, she is being interviewed on this topic because equity in STEM education is an important component of social mobility. I’m not saying that is right or wrong, but in the current and foreseeable job market many of the well paying degree level jobs are in fields that require a Maths A level.

I’ve always thought the woman out of her depth but this is a new low. IMO she has revealed a level of ignorance and/or bias rendering her unqualified for her position.

On a personal note, although my PhD is maths intensive my intellect is probably fairly general and I definitely remember being steered towards the Humanities by virtually everyone except DF, an engineer. I was educated abroad with primary school Y1-6. During Y5-6 I was simply left to do maths at my own pace, finishing in Dec, and for the rest of the year I was excused from class to be a sort of TA for Y1-2 Maths. Think a boy would have been treated that way? The message to me was that my talent was a nuisance unless it could be put to use helping the young. I started to be embarrassed by it.

I really doubt that girls’ sensitivities have revolutionised completely in the intervening years. We see the improvements in A level statistics and UG enrolments but we should not underestimate the continued toll of conscious and unconscious bias.

Utter garbage, shameful that this woman is responsible for educating young adults. I suggest to her that initial problems in this area lies with the teaching and the antediluvian attitudes held by the instructors. Perhaps painting classrooms pink would help the shy girlies or they might teach physics alongside embroidery classes? Bloody hell, I despair. Misogyny is not the sole preserve of men.

It isn't just about single sex schools though. My DD went to a mixed school, there were lots of girls doing maths and physics, girls going on to university to do medicine/engineering etc. A mixed school can have an ethos where all children can achieve.

I have links to 3 different local schools (GC at that age plus neighbour) and all 3 school have female maths and physics teachers, two of the schools have a female head of department in maths so girls are getting the idea they can do it.

I work with primary school ages children doing S.T.E.A.M based stuff and in every session we only have the same one girl.

We have girls who come to many other clubs we run, but there is no real interest from them to do the S.T.E.A.M sessions. We ask and they say its boring.

The girls will come to arts and crafts and baking (as do just as many boys)

That's not to say there arent girls interested in maths and science etc it just doesn't appeal to as many of them as it does boys, just from what I've experienced at a primary school level.

Well, that attitude from Ms Birbalsingh absolutely fucking sucks and she should be ashamed of herself, not least for perpetuating lazy tropes about which sex is more suited to which subject.

I'm sure there ARE those who think that women should do subjects that match their expectation of women and their expected careers. But that's social conditioning that women should be mothers, teachers, nurses etc. and therefore the 'softer' subjects (and that doesn't mean they're easy, because they're not) are a) more suited to those expected careers/lives and b) won't give women funny ideas about non-traditional roles

And people who think this can fuck right off.

I and a large number of my friends did maths, further maths and/or physics and we did it because we wanted to and we were good at them. Thankfully we didn't have societal expectations pressuring us not to; in fact we were very much encouraged to do STEM subjects.

Something is causing the discrepancy between girls and boys, what is it?