Girls are equally good in maths

Girls are equivalent to boys in maths and any perceived differences can be explained by attitude towards women, says a study.

Girls are equivalent to boys in maths and any perceived differences can be explained by attitude towards women, says a study.

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The study is based on data from schools in 86 countries, including those from non-Western societies, that concluded differences in mathematical ability were due to unequal societies and not biology.

Scientists previously believed that the relatively low numbers of women in high-level mathematics could be due to biological differences between men and women. But a new international study has cast doubt on the idea that the differences are biological at all, the journal Notices of the American Mathematical Society reported.

Previous studies tended to focus on a limited range of countries — whereas the new study observed schools in 86 countries.