How the gender gap affects elementary schoolers

(Image credit: iStock.)

published 13 June 2018

When it comes to English class, socioeconomic status doesn't matter: Girls are consistently ahead of the game.

But educational inequality between boys and girls sticks out in math class, analysis from The New York Times has found. Boys from rich, white, suburban school districts perform better than girls in math, and research suggests stereotypes are to blame.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

The fact that boys in white, affluent districts outperform girls in math is a bit of a contradiction. Researchers told the Times that suburban families tend to believe more strongly in gender equality, but also conform to traditional gender roles. Boys see men succeeding in science- and math-based jobs, so that's where they tend to excel. Meanwhile, boys in black, poor communities start to think school isn't manly and fall behind.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox