Gender and Mathematics:  What Can Other Disciplines Tell Us?  What is Our Role?

Sarah Lubienski; Weverton Ataide Pinheiro

doi:10.21423/jume-v13i1a377

Authors

Sarah Lubienski Indiana University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0162-0733
Weverton Ataide Pinheiro Indiana University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2621-3381

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v13i1a377

Keywords:

gender, psychology, race, socio-economic status

Abstract

In this article, we begin by taking stock of broad trends related to gender and mathematics, focusing primarily on patterns within the United States. We then add some important nuance, discussing some ways in which patterns vary by social class and race. Given that much recent work on gender and mathematics has been situated outside of traditional mathematics education frames, we consider how ongoing work in psychology and gender studies can contribute to our understanding, using interview data from a study of woman’s experiences in a mathematics Ph.D. program. Ultimately, we argue that mathematics education researchers bring unique expertise to the table and have a particular role to play in building upon work in other fields to further the work on gender and mathematics.

References

American Association of University Women. (2018). The simple truth about the gender pay gap (Fall 2018 Edition).

Amin, K. (2017). Disturbing attachments: Genet, modern pederasty, and queer history. Duke University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1220mb1

Borum, V., & Walker, E. (2012). What makes the difference? Black women's undergraduate and graduate experiences in mathematics. The Journal of Negro Education, 81(4), 366–378. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.81.4.0366 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.81.4.0366

Butler, J. (1993). Bodies that matter: On the discursive limits of sex. Routledge.

Cimpian, J. R., Lubienski, S. T., Timmer, J. D., Makowski, M. B., & Miller, E. K. (2016). Have gender gaps in math closed? Achievement, teacher perceptions, and learning behaviors across two ECLS-K cohorts. AERA Open, 2(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2332858416673617 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858416673617

Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.

Corbett, C., & Hill, C. (2012). Graduating to a pay gap: The earnings of women and men one year after college graduation. American Association of University Women.

Dalton, B., Ingels, S. J., Downing, J., & Bozick, R. (2007). Advanced mathematics and science coursetaking in the spring high school senior classes of 1982, 1992, and 2004 (NCES 2007–312). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007312.pdf

Donovan, J. (2012). Feminist theory: The intellectual traditions (4th ed.). Continuum International Publishing Group.

Eccles, J. S. (2009). Who am I and what am I going to do with my life? Personal and collective identities as motivators of action. Educational Psychologist, 44(2), 78–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520902832368 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520902832368

Eccles, J. S., & Wang, M. T. (2016). What motivates females and males to pursue careers in mathematics and science? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 40(2), 100–106. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0165025415616201 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025415616201

Ellison, G., & Swanson, A. (2010). The gender gap in secondary school mathematics at high achievement levels: Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(2):109–128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.24.2.109

Ellison, G. D., & Swanson, A. (2018). Dynamics of the gender gap in high math achievement (NBER Working Paper No. w24910). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w24910.pdf DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w24910

Etzkowitz, H., Kemelgor, C., & Uzzi, B. (2000). Athena unbound: The advancement of women in science and technology (Vol. 19). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511541414

Fennema, E., Carpenter, T. P., Jacobs, V. R., Franke, M. L., & Levi, L. W. (1998). A longitudinal study of gender differences in young children’s mathematical thinking. Educational Researcher, 27(5), 6–11. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0013189X027005006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X027005006

Fryer, R. G., Jr., & Levitt, S. D. (2004). Understanding the Black-White test score gap in the first two years of school. Review of Economics & Statistics, 86(2), 447–464. https://doi.org/10.1162/003465304323031049 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/003465304323031049

Gallagher, A. M., De Lisi, R., Holst, P. C., McGillicuddy-De Lisi, A. V., Morely, M., & Cahalan, C. (2000). Gender differences in advanced mathematical problem solving. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 75(3), 165–190. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1999.2532 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1999.2532

Ganley, C. M., & Lubienski, S. T. (2016). Mathematics confidence, interest and performance: Examining gender patterns and reciprocal relations. Learning and Individual Differences, 47, 182–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.01.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.01.002

Gholson, M. L. (2016). Clean corners and algebra: A critical examination of the constructed invisibility of black girls and women in mathematics. Journal of Negro Education, 85(3), 290–301. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.85.3.0290 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.85.3.0290

Goodchild, S., & Grevholm, B. (2009). An exploratory study of mathematics test results: What is the gender effect? International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 7(1), 161–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-007-9114-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-007-9114-7

Grevholm, B. (2011). Vad händer inom forskning rörande genus och matematik? Några observationer och reflektioner om aktuella trender. In B. Melander & C. Rudälv (Eds.), Kvinnor och matematik: Konferens den 14–16 juni 2009: Konferensrapport (pp. 21–33). Umeå Universitet.

Hall, J. (2014). Unpacking “gender issues” research. Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal, 28, 1–10.

Herzig, A. H. (2004a). Becoming mathematicians: Women and students of color choosing and leaving doctoral mathematics. Review of Educational Research, 74(2), 171–214. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F00346543074002171 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074002171

Herzig, A. H. (2004b). ‘Slaughtering this beautiful math’: Graduate women choosing and leaving mathematics. Gender and Education, 16(3), 379–395. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540250042000251506 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540250042000251506

Herzig, A. H. (2010). Women belonging in the social worlds of graduate mathematics. The Mathematics Enthusiast, 7(2), 177–208. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/tme/vol7/iss2/2/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.54870/1551-3440.1183

Korth, B. (2003). A critical reconstruction of care-in-action. The Qualitative Report, 8(3), 487–512. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol8/iss3/9/

Korth, B. (2005). Choice, necessity, or narcissism? A feminist does feminist ethnography. In G. Troman, B. Jeffrey, & G. Walford (Eds.), Methodological issues and practices in ethnography (pp. 131–167). Emerald Group Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1529-210X(05)11008-0

Lauermann, F., Tsai, Y.-M., & Eccles, J. S. (2017). Math-related career aspirations and choices within Eccles et al.’s expectancy–value theory of achievement-related behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 53(8), 1540–1559. http://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000367 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000367

Leslie, S. J., Cimpian, A., Meyer, M., & Freeland, E. (2015). Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines. Science, 347(6219), 262–265. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261375 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261375

Leyva, L. A. (2017). Unpacking the male superiority myth and masculinization of mathematics at the intersections: A review of research on gender in mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 48(4), 397–433. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.48.4.0397 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.48.4.0397

Lovitts, B. E. (2001). Leaving the ivory tower: the causes and consequences of departure from doctoral study. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Lubienski, S. T., & Ganley, C. M. (2017). Research on gender and mathematics. In J. Cai (Ed.), Compendium for research in mathematics education (pp. 649–666). National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Lubienski, S. T., Makowski, M., & Miller, E. (2018, April 23–¬25). “Bold problem solving:” A new construct for gender equity research [Paper presentation]. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Research Conference, Washington, DC, United States.

Lubienski, S. T., Robinson, J. P., Crane, C. C., & Ganley, C. M. (2013). Girls’ and boys’ mathematics achievement, affect, and experiences: Findings from ECLS-K. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(4), 634–645. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.44.4.0634 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.44.4.0634

Marks, J. L., Lam, C. B., & McHale, S. M. (2009). Family patterns of gender role attitudes. Sex Roles, 61(3–4), 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11199-009-9619-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9619-3

McAdams, D. P. (2008). Personal narratives and the life story. In O. John, R. Robins, & L. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 241–261). Guilford Press.

McCann, C. R., & Kim, S. K. (2013). Introduction. In C. R. McCann & S. K. Kim (Eds.), Feminist theory reader: Local and global perspectives (pp. 1–10). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203598313

McGraw, R., Lubienski, S. T., & Strutchens, M. E. (2006). A closer look at gender in NAEP mathematics achievement and affect data: Intersections with achievement, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 37(2), 129–150.

McGraw, R., Piatek-Jimenez, K., Wiest, L., Dias, A., Gonçalves, H. J. L., Hall, J., Hodge, A., Kersey, B., & Rubel, L. (2019). Working group on gender and sexuality in mathematics education: experience of people across cultures. In S. Otten, A. G. Candela, Z. Araujo, C. Haines, & C. Munter (Eds.), Proceedings of the forty-first annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 1940–1953). University of Missouri. https://www.pmena.org/pmenaproceedings/PMENA%2041%202019%20Proceedings.pdf

Misawa, M. (2012). Social justice narrative inquiry: A queer crit perspective. Proceedings of the Annual Adult Education Research Conference, 53, 239–246. https://newprairiepress.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3082&context=aerc

Musto, M. (2019). Brilliant or bad? The gendered social construction of exceptionalism in early adolescence. American Sociological Review, 84(3), 369–393. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122419837567 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122419837567

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (2019). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering (Special Report NSF 19-304). National Science Foundation, Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science. https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd.

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2014). PISA 2012 results: What students know and can do: Student performance in mathematics, reading and science (Rev. ed., Vol. 1). http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-volume-I.pdf

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2015). The ABC of gender equality in education: Aptitude, behaviour, confidence. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-gender-eng.pdf

Perez-Felkner, L., McDonald, S.-K., & Schneider, B. L. (2014). What happens to high-achieving females after high school? Gender and persistence on the postsecondary STEM pipeline. In I. Schoon & J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Gender differences in aspirations and attainment (pp. 285–320). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139128933.018

Pinheiro, W. A. (2019). [Unpublished raw data on the study of the Empowerment of Women in Mathematics Graduate Schools 2019 MAXQDA Research for Change Grant]. Indiana University.

Reardon, S. F. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New evidence and possible explanations. In G. J. Duncan & R. J. Murnane (Eds.), Whither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children’s life chances (pp. 91–116). Russell Sage Foundation; Spencer Foundation.

Reardon, S. F., Kalogrides, D., Fahle, E. M., Podolsky, A., & Zárate, R. C. (2018). The relationship between test item format and gender achievement gaps on math and ELA tests in 4th and 8th grades. Educational Researcher, 47(5), 284–294. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0013189X18762105 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X18762105

Riegle-Crumb, C., & King, B. (2010). Questioning a white male advantage in STEM: Examining disparities in college major by gender and race/ethnicity. Educational Researcher, 39(9), 656–664. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0013189X10391657 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X10391657

Riegle-Crumb, C., King, B., & Irizarry, Y. (2019). Does STEM stand out? Examining racial/ethnic gaps in persistence across postsecondary fields. Educational Researcher, 48(3), 133–144. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19831006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19831006

Ryan, C. (2012). Field of degree and earnings by selected employment characteristics: 2011. U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2012/acs/acsbr11-10.pdf

Sonnert, G., & Holton, G. (1995) Who succeeds in science? The gender dimension. Rutgers University Press.

Walker, E. N. (2012). Cultivating mathematics identities in and out of school and in between. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 5(1), 66–83. https://journals.tdl.org/jume/index.php/JUME/article/view/173/100 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v5i1a173

Walshaw, M., Chronaki, A., Leyva, L., Stinson, D. W., Nolan, K., & Mendick, H. (2017). Beyond the box: Rethinking gender in mathematics education research. In A. Chronaki (Ed.), Proceedings of the Ninth International Mathematics Education and Society Conference (Vol. 1, pp. 184–188). MES9. https://www.mescommunity.info/mes9a.pdf

Zhu, Z. (2007). Gender differences in mathematical problem solving patterns: A review of literature. International Education Journal, 8(2), 187–203.