(This is the transcript of a paper presented to Forum 97,  May 1997)

     A recently published study reflecting on general gender differences has involved 991 five year olds in Dunedin, New Zealand.  From time to time such work uncovers and re-establishes basic differences that appear to be constants, despite cultural differences in expectation and role division.  
      This does not impact on feminist claims of equality of opportunity or the call for the overthrow of stereotype. Knowing and appreciating basic variances, one might better explain differences in attitudes and be ready to be more tolerant.  
      Although diet plays some part, some differences are obvious: general bone structure for women is slighter and more delicate, especially around the face. I have been told that Maori folklore states that by looking at the shape of the abdomen during pregnancy, the sex of the unborn child can be accurately guessed. A more rounded shape indicates a girl, while a more angular look predicts a boy. Carrying this burden higher or lower is significant; apparently if a boy it feels like the weight is being carried on the backside. 
     Most women have higher voices, and the Greeks realized that if a man and a woman are asked to sing the same note, each will unconsciously sing it an octave apart. Dr. David Lewis, author of Silent Language of Babies explains that the male voice being the more powerful is more scary, therefore less secure, to the baby’s ears. The higher voice would be then the less threatening.  
 If we accept gender anatomical differences as fact then it is a short jump to the possibility of mental and emotional differences as well. 
 John Gray’s bestsellers, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and its sequels, focus on differing relationship attitudes. The books enjoy wide popularity, partly due to aggressive marketing but also to some instinctive popular gut reaction. 
 If so,  what are these differences?  Perhaps there is no truth in them, and people in your life are not like that. But it could be of use to know what educational psychologists are increasingly saying, so you as a teacher or parent can be better informed.  

SERIATION VS HOLISTIC 
 Boys are better at doing one thing at a time; girls are better at doing many things at once. While girls are fond of detail, boys like things to be simply put - they may give up earlier when too many instructions are perceived. Boys’ focus is much narrower, whereas it is the detail that more interests and fascinates girls. 
 Sales and marketing experts will tell you that brochures that have 3 or 4 simple clear instructions or points on a page will appeal to male readers more than a lot of clutter. On the other hand, they have found that women like a page to be busy, desiring to know everything that a product, person or service has done and can offer. Much like browsing around a shopping mall, females seem to like the act of browsing, when it comes to brochures. Therefore one needs to know who is going to read your advertising. To cover the field advertisers often send out both types of layout. 
 Some subscribe to Left brain and Right brain Sometimes this scientific model becomes an explain-all and is to my mind a bit too simplistic. Anyway, whatever causes perceived differences is probably immaterial. If one believes there are gender differences, then this impacts on presentations in teaching, especially in math No-one need lose out because math is about focus and math is also about detail and patterning.  
 Like the advertising styles, the approaches should differ to teaching the same subject. Both sexes will then be catered for and neither will be left out.. 

SEPARATION 
 It has also been noted that young boys are more upset at being separated from their mother. They are shyer, less confident, more dependent. They have a shorter attention span, give up on things more easily, and have less frustration tolerance. It has also been observed that they are also more hyperactive, more restless, fidget more than girls, destroy property more often, and have more tics. They are more difficult to manage and more inclined to bully others.  
 Girls, on the other hand, when separated from their mother are more often miserable, bite their nails more often, and develop fussier natures.  
 Girls do more puzzles, boys play more in sandpits. When taken into a garden, boys more typically will want to dig holes in it and girls will prefer to pick the flowers. 

LANGUAGE 
 Apart from the finding that there is no difference between the sexes in child studies when it comes to telling lies, girls are generally ahead of boys in all aspects of language development for at least the first five years of school life. Much confidence in early math years comes from ease in the use of the appropriate language. Boys may often understand the processes more, but they may fall short of being able to adequately describe them. Because the language gets selectively reinforced, boys can lose heart and can end up thinking they’re no good at math. 

WHAT DO GIRLS WANT 
 Workability is more the girls’ aim; knowing how to get a result that will please the teacher, after which they can move on to the next thing that comes up. It’s not quite the same as understanding a process.  
 Girls are culturally encouraged to be group-aware and relationship-oriented. This bodes well in learning sets and points out some reasons for perceived gender differences in math skills. In social as well as math situations, girls often only want to know what they have to say and to whom, to get themselves included, to be part of the group. They want to know the lay of the land, the state of the problem and how they fit in, in terms of being able to find solutions.  

WHAT DO BOYS WANT 
 Boys are less concerned with pleasing; they seek to know what happens. Rather than examining while leaving things be, they want to make changes, apply movement, shift gear, look at inner workings, and take things apart. The interest is in how they work and not THAT they work. They want to do it without necessarily talking about doing it. 
 In co-ed high schools, teachers have noted the difference when it comes to computers. Boys rush to the machines whilst girls are not in such a hurry - they can’t talk to each other whilst operating keyboards; it is not a social activity. Boys on the other hand, prefer to work by themselves in relative silence. Computers seem more suited to the so-called male way of doing things. Girls seem to prefer books. 

 Teachers have commented that girls, when allowed to sit and work together, say to each other ‘Oh, I can’t do this, can you?’ , all the while doing it. The opportunities to converse seems more attractive to females. Perhaps it is cultural or genetic - it doesn’t matter; it seems to be often true, and something that should taken into account in a gender-mixed class.  
 This is not to say that boys don’t like talking. But their preference is DOING which often will be in silence. 
 Few young girls try to wreck their dolls and many women can show you dolls they had as young children, whereas boys can point to few intact toys surviving from early childhood. When you take something apart you often lose the point of it, because if the exercise fails and you end up not understanding a function, you’ve lost the original article as well.  
 When a boy wrecks a new toy, it is not that he is a vandal, merely curious and exploratory. It is more the fault of the toy than of him if it breaks too soon after purchase. Better to provide such a child with equipment designed to be taken apart.. 
 It also might explain why children leave messes on their floor. The joy is in the disassembly - there is far less to be learned from putting it all back again. Going somewhere is always more fun than returning home. 
 Because they often think some knowledge of the inner working mechanism is required of them, boys are more liable to make more of a math problem than might really exist. While the boy may still be pondering the deep implications of some question, the girl in the next seat may have worked the same problem to what she thinks will be an acceptable answer and handed it in, hoping for praise.  
 From her maternal rolemodel, the girl may approach math like housework; she rolls up her sleeves and wades in. She has seen Mum do this around the home. There might not be much wonder involved. Yet for a boy, unless some hunting element, some sense of elusiveness is there, a task often doesn’t seem worth pursuing. 

GIRLS START OFF BETTER 
 In the early years, girls are across the board better at math than boys, according to the way we assess academic progress. Boys are separated from the father, the preferred role-model, at an early age. It has been suggested that at an unexpressable level they resent that the mother is there instead.  
 For girls that is no problem - the preferred role-model is available. But boys hesitate and their identity development misses a beat or two, while girls, having no identity factor to work at, pass them academically. Boys often view school as a place full of women and do not relish the idea of women being higher status, so won’t apply themselves as well as girls. This attitude is a cultural one( it is not a prejudice to say that such male superiority is often found in some Polynesian, Pakistani and Indonesian groups) 

ATTENTION 
 It is unfortunate that boys are not rewarded for daydreaming and dawdling. It is also unfortunate that as girls grow older, society gradually steers them away from math-based careers. Yet research has shown that when girls are expected to do well in math and to continue to choose  math-oriented options, they continue to beat the boys at ALL levels. If a boy is falling behind everyone says to him What? You have to work harder - math is VERY important, whereas if a girl falls behind the common reaction from the adults in her life is Oh well, she’s not going to be a famous scientist, is she! She’ll probably leave school and just get married.  Fortunately this attitude is changing rapidly in middle class homes more exposed these days to the greater variety of vocational options. 

MATH VS THE ARTS 
 Math gets lumped in with science, and language with the arts: a polarity that has always suited school administrations more than what actually happens in life. There is no reason why art and math should not enjoy a double-billing – for example the study of linguistics is highly scientific. But when children approach option crossroads and are forced to decide, it is the boys who are still encouraged to take the hi-fi road and the girls to take what is left. Science is the area that gets the research funds, so in the long run the boys are going to benefit and land the more lucrative jobs. 
 The end result is a society that invents industry-sponsored big toys like NASA projects that sometimes exist for their own engineering feats. The technology serves itself rather than the common people, and the machines can end up working for the fantasies of collective male corporate management rather than for the nation’s best welfare. 

HELPING BOYS 
 The task for boys who might be having trouble coping with math is to see that much math is just verbal in its requirement. When you see a young boy taking something apart, seize the opportunity to create a math exercise. Ask him casually how many bits he’s ended up with and therefore how many parts to the whole. Engage him in conversation about it on any level. Slowly get him used to the language of math - what goes before this, after that, what was the first part removed and what will be the last, what needs to be taken away or added. How many times can he assemble or dismember in a certain time frame, say, 5 minutes?  
 These are essential number line concepts. Get him used to the fact that no more is required of him at this stage than description and possibility, and lighten his mental load.  Offer small rewards. So long as language is being used and he’s enjoying it he will want to do it again, which means you can hook in some more direct language in the next session. 

HELPING GIRLS 
 The task for girls experiencing difficulties may be to see that understanding is required and talking should, in math at least, be to unravel understanding and not be a substitute for working at a solution. If a child is talking too much and not thinking enough and has become used to calling out immediately to you for help - you might now decide to be busy and unavailable for longer and longer periods or stay just out of earshot. Also do not react to everything she says . Rather than existing for relaying important information,  chatter even to you is often just used as a social glue. 

GETTING GIRLS TO DO WELL 
 Expect the best from a girl and that’s what you’ll get. 
Expectancy is only just starting to become properly understood. In a recent experiment involving New York elementary schools, a group of educational psychologists went into selected schools and told teachers in sample classes the same story. These children, they said, producing lists showing pupils’ names,  have been selected for a project later in the year. They are considered exceptional in some category. And then they watched from afar the academic progress of these children.  
 Very quickly they rose to the top of their class, if they weren’t there already. What they didn’t tell the teachers at the outset was that the names were chosen at random.  
 There is no doubt that if girls are expected to do as well as boys they will do so. Much depends on parents’ language. Parents, - not peers or the media - have the strongest influence on their daughters’ self-esteem and life choices. 
 Girls and boys are more alike than different in their physical developments prior to puberty.. Given the same kind and amount of practice, they would perform at least equally well at sports and other physical activities. 
 Girls and boys have the same range of abilities in reading, writing, and mathematics. Most of the differences that we find have more to do with family, social and cultural experiences and expectations than with capacity. Differences in experience and expectation account for many of the differences in choices and performance 
 

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO AT HOME  
- Your words are powerful and can influence attitudes and performance in school and at home 

- Encourage and praise risk-taking in female children and care-taking in boys. 

- Avoid rescuing girls. Encourage girls to make an imperfect product, to get dirty, disheveled and sweaty in pursuit of a goal, to make big, interesting mistakes.  

- Praise girls for their skills, ideas and successes, and not only for their appearance. 

- Provide opportunities for girls to explore roles, experiences and activities that are generally reserved for boys. Girls may not ask for the opportunity to hold a snake, learn carpentry or construct an electrical circuit, but they participate eagerly when given the chance to do so. 

- Enable every girl to become a media critic. Examine the portrayals ofgirls and women in television programs, popular songs, movies, books and magazines. Are the portrayals realistic? Are female characters judged more by their looks or their actions? 

EDUCATION 
- A new study has confirmed that education plays a key role in improving women’s lives. Among women who were college graduates,  95 % said that things were going at least fairly well, compared with only 3 % of the women who had not completed high school. 

- Women who take more than two college-level math courses often achieve pay equity with men, and in many cases, receive higher average pay than men. 

- Build your daughter’s technological mastery and competence by finding a way for her to use a computer regularly. 

- If she shows an interest in technical things, buy her a subscription to a computer magazine. Don’t assume that she is not interested in technical things. Support your daughter’s interests and participation in extracurricular activities. Sports, clubs, field trips, etc. allow students to find new interests, take on new responsibilities, learn leadership, be part of a team effort, and build a resume. Find out about computer camps or computer clubs. .  
 

CHECKLIST FOR FOCUSING ON GIRLS IN CO-ED SETTINGS 
Encourage girls to: 

- Take risks 
- Think, probe and be inquisitive 
- Speak up for themselves and take action 
- Make mistakes, learn from them and try again 
- Try out new interests and acquire new skills 
- Take on leadership positions 
- Be physically active 
- Stick with science, math and technology  
 

- Ask your daughter about her school experiences. Find out if she feels comfortable speaking out in class or asking for help, and whether she thinks the teachers hold the boys and the girls to the same standards. 

- Try to visit her classes to observe how the teachers interact with the students, if possible. 

- Encourage schools to celebrate the accomplishments of women. 

- Promote participation in debating clubs, school newspapers, sports and student government. 

- Push a girl who is opting out of science, math or advanced courses she could tackle. Praise a C+ in a tough class as loudly as an A in an easy one. 

- Be sure that she gets “hands-on” computer time at school. 

- Urge educators to introduce career awareness and information in 
elementary school. 
 

WHY THIS ALSO HELPS BOYS 
- Equity for girls is equity for everyone. Gender equity projects 
always lead to improved education for boys as well as girls. 

- Serving girls better does not necessarily mean less for boys. 
Much of what we know about effective programming for girls is grounded in positive youth development and would help improve programming for boys. A higher valuing of girls can benefit boys, too.  
 In particular, boys can learn more about the strengths, capabilities and contributions of girls and women. This, in turn, may help decrease the pressure many boys feel to conform to traditional roles, behaviors and ways of thinking. 

- Look at textbooks: are there women in history, science and art? 

- Read what your daughter is reading. 

- Find out if girls have equal access and time on the computers and other high-tech equipment. 

- Ask school administrators to develop viable programs to assure girls access and time. 

- Find out how many girls are enrolled in advanced math, science and computer courses. 

- Find out if there are organized, funded team sports for girls. If not, talk to the principal and coaches. 

- Recommend awareness training for faculty and staff on stereotypic language, books and programming that slow girls down. 

- Ensure that your daughter is involved in a girls-only group, sports camp, after school program, workshop or school. Any single-sex learning experience can be valuable for girls, from summer camp to Girl Scouts to organized athletics. Such activities offer girls a chance to experience a world in which females are in charge. 
 

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO: MATH & SCIENCE 
- Math and science are critical. Stress the importance of math, science and technical classes. These are opportunities for students to learn and practice problem-solving and independent thinking - skills that are critical to building personal confidence and competence, to being creative, to being flexible and adaptable in dealing with life, and to accessing high-paying work. 

- Consider your own feelings about math and science. Even if these subjects were hard for you, do not impose your feelings on your daughter. 

 Support your daughter’s interest in math and science. Keep expectations high. Encourage your daughter to take mathematics and science classes and hold high expectations for her own success. 
(After participating in a program with activities showing that algebra can be fun, and after encouragement that they could do math, one group of low-income, urban, Hispanic girls in New York all decided to take algebra.) 

- Engage your daughter in projects that develop spatial reasoning and analytical skills. Girls ten and older may enjoy tinkering with a chemistry set or building a model robot from a kit. 

- Ask your daughter’s teachers about specific math and science projects. Express interest in your daughter’s progress in these subjects. Find out what computer programs, materials, and equipment are available for her use and how often she uses them. 

- Check to see if your daughter’s school hosts special math or science programs. If not, encourage her school to get involved.  

- Intervene ! In most schools, students decide around the age of 14 if they will take algebra, an important first step to continued math involvement. While girls and boys are equally apt to take algebra and geometry, girls are more likely than boys to stop there and take no more matsh. 

- Introduce girls, as well as boys, to women and men in the world of work in both traditional and non-traditional fields. 

-  Debunk the myth of Prince Charming in favor of the reality that most women will work outside the home for a large proportion of their lives. 

- Provide opportunities to develop interests and skills that can lead to careers - agriculture, art, astronomy...zoology. 

-  Introduce girls to dynamic women who combine paid work, volunteer work and family life in innovative ways. 
 
 

UNLOCKING STEREOTYPES - SCIENCE QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DAUGHTER 

- When I need help with math or science, I usually ask………. 

- Girls who enjoy science are.…………… 

- Boys who enjoy science are.…………… 

- I want to be............................................................... when I grow up. I will/will not need math and science. 

- My parents want me to be ............................................ 
when I grow up. 

- In math classes, teachers expect the boys to................ 
 

- In math classes, teachers expect the girls to................. 
 

- Draw a picture of a scientist. 
 
 

DID YOU KNOW..? 
- The world’s first computer programmer was a woman. August Ada Lovelace wrote the instructions for a computing machine in the 1800’s. 

- One of the chief developers of COBOL, a language for programming digital computers for business applications, was a woman, Grace Hopper. She was also the first to coin the term “bug” in referring to a computer error. In 1960, when the computer industry was still in its infancy, 65% of the 2,000 computer operators were women. 
 
 

IMPROVING SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS 
Spend time regularly in local classrooms to get in touch with what’s happening in schools. 

Expect and advocate schoolwork that includes complex problem-solving. 

Foster interest in girls’ participation in science fairs.  

Encourage the school to start a mentorship program, matching professionals in the community with girls and boys interested in their fields.  
 

SURPRISING BUT TRUE 
 Developmentally, girls take the lead. They talk earlier, read earlier, count earlier. In preschool, they score higher on IQ tests than their male peers. They usually receive better grades in elementary school than boys, yet in public schools, far more gifted boys than gifted girls are identified by fifth grade. 
 Girls begin to go underground with their talents and abilities sometime between fifth and ninth grades. 
  Traditional teacher training has focused on teaching to boys’ interests and behaviors. This strategy is thought to help keep order in classrooms. Boys predominately express their frustrations by acting out, disrupting the classroom in a variety of ways. Girls predominantly express their frustrations by acting in, becoming silent, withdrawn and 
non-participative. One way to control boys was to be sure that they were contributing - therefore, teachers have traditionally called on boys more often than girls. 
 Boys and girls come to very different conclusions about themselves, even when the data on which they base their decisions are the same. 
 Research shows that boys are more willing to accept success and take credit for their accomplishments than girls are. 
 

EXPECTATION 
 Adults, even teachers, often have different expectations of boys and girls, especially in the area of mathematical achievement. 

 Adults tend to rescue girls in situations where they do not rescue boys. 
 
 

WOMEN AND WORK 
 Society still tells girls they have a choice as to whether or not they will work for pay. Yet, women are nine times as likely as men to be single parents. Nine out of ten women work for pay at some time during their lives. Eight out of ten women between the ages of 20 and 44 are working in 1995. By paying attention to girls’ educational achievements and career aspirations, we will ensure that women can have economic security, a better quality of life, and more career choices. We will also reduce the need for social welfare; since most families in poverty are headed by women with inadequate education. Women who choose non-traditional careers can expect to have lifetime earnings that are 150% of women who choose traditional careers. 
 Females continue to be clustered into traditionally female occupations. If present trends continue and girls are not encouraged into math and science and computer programming, they will be trained only for the data and information-retrieval capabilities of the computer. These are still secretarial/clerical skills, and females will remain at the low end of the service-oriented pay scale. Excluding sales, the highest paying occupations will be those requiring the highest technical skills, such as:computer systems analysis, programmers, engineers, technicians, and repair and service people.  
 90% of the jobs today’s kindergartners will be doing when they reach adulthood do not even exist today. 
 

Acknowledgements 
The Women’s College Coalition 
The USA Ad Council. 
The Dept of Statistics 
The University of Auckland