Thursday, July 23, 2009

Pervasive Gender Bias with Science

From the Butler University Computer Science and Software Engineering "women-in-it announcement" list server

Citizens in 34 Countries Show Implicit Bias Linking Males More Than Females with Science

http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=9054
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that implicit stereotypes, thoughts that people are unwilling to express or not even know they have, can have a significant impact on gender equity in science and mathematics participation and performance. The international study, which involved more than 500,000 participants from 34 countries, found that 70 percent of people harbor implicit stereotypes that associate science with males more than females. In countries where the stereotype was believed the most fervently, boys achieved a higher level in eighth-grade science and math.

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