# Some cold facts about math and gender | Elephants in Rooms
# Uploader: Elephants in Rooms - Ken LaCorte
# Upload date: 2025-05-09
# URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQu5tkq6efI
# Script notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yAVSNthHLvL4pBYf5GzXxZ_O3Pu1Z8GnjYE5AjLDCf4/edit

[0.0] Are women bad at math? A lot of people think that. Heck, a lot of women think
[4.28] that. Yet, saying it out loud will still get you fired from some jobs. But, more
[8.4] importantly, is it true? The answer is that it depends on how you look at the
[12.64] question. Do we look at average test scores? The sex that excels at the top
[16.88] level of math? Or how about the opposite? The ones that are most likely
[20.4] to perform poorly? All of those have different answers, but there are
[23.76] definitely gender differences that surprised me when I dug into the
[27.24] numbers. So, that's the elephant in the room. And we don't learn anything by
[31.08] ignoring it. I'm Ken Lacorte. I dug deep into this topic and I'll try to give it
[35.16] to you in a fair way because there's nuance all over this one. We'll first
[38.92] take a look at the numbers in America. What do the standardized tests show?
[42.6] We'll look at the gender gaps worldwide and then at the possible reasons for
[46.32] those gaps, which, as is often the case, a mix of nurture, the social
[51.28] explanations, and nature, the role of genetics. I won't give you pat answers
[55.88] because that's just not how the world works and I'm not trying to sell you
[59.04] anything. Just to get a little smarter over the next 10 minutes. Let's start by
[62.68] looking at the numbers in America.

[64.52] Nationwide standardized test scores for the SAT and Advanced Placement Exams.
[69.92] So, math scores for the SAT, which is the largest college placement test, they
[74.4] range from 200 to 800 points. In 2022, the average SAT math score for boys was
[81.16] 530, while girls averaged a little lower at 512.
[85.72] Now, that's an 18-point difference, but it's roughly two correct questions on an
[89.96] exam that typically has 58 questions. It's a small difference, but there
[94.0] hasn't been one recorded year where girls have outperformed boys. But, that
[98.88] gap has been shrinking. In 1985, for instance, girls trailed boys by almost
[103.68] 60 points. Today's smaller difference is a clue that something more than biology
[108.44] is going on.

[109.88] But, look, average scores don't tell the whole story either. I mean, what's
[114.92] really interesting is when we look at the extreme because boys do the best and
[120.28] the worst on the SAT. They dominate the top and the bottom of
[124.08] these scores distributions. Some numbers. Of students getting in the top
[126.24] 10% of SAT math scores, 61% are male and they're more than twice as likely than
[132.28] girls to earn a perfect 800. I mean, that's dramatic. But, and we see this in
[138.96] other fields as well, when you look at the lowest 10% of scores, boys are
[143.6] overrepresented there as well, making up 56% of that group. Researchers call it
[148.08] the males at the tails phenomenon, meaning that when you look at a
[151.28] distribution curve, boys are more variable in their math performance and
[154.8] are seen more at the edges. On the Advanced Placement Math Test, once
[158.92] again, boys score higher at the top-end exams. And also again, that gap is
[161.64] getting smaller. In 1995, for every 100 boys getting the highest score, a five,
[167.52] only 52 girls did the same. You fast forward two decades and by 2019, that
[172.48] number was 69 girls for every 100 boys.

[176.32] But, tests aren't everything. How about classroom grades? Despite those test
[180.32] scores, girls consistently outperform boys in math classrooms. And they also
[184.96] get higher grades overall. In fact, by graduation, girls not only have higher
[189.4] GPAs, but often complete advanced math classes at rates equal or higher than
[193.96] boys.

[195.12] So, some of the differences may just be the way that girls and boys are wired.
[198.92] Girls are better at a lot of the executive functioning skills needed to
[202.16] succeed in the classroom on any subject. They're more likely to plan
[206.32] ahead, set academic goals, and work to achieve those. On the flip side, girls
[210.96] often have higher levels of test anxiety than boys, which could certainly impact
[214.56] things as well. Meanwhile, boys overall tend to be performance-oriented and
[219.36] thrive in competitive environments like high-stakes tests. So, are tests
[223.76] accurately measuring math ability? Are factors like test anxiety and
[227.44] stereotypes skewing the results? Or do we have an instance of the greater male
[231.04] variability hypothesis, which I'll get into in a little bit? If we look at
[234.92] broader measures like the National Assessment of Education Progress, it's
[238.6] often called the Nation's Report Card and it measures kind of more
[241.92] fundamental math skills, we find almost no gender differences.

[246.12] So, in the United States, the math gender gap, it's not as simple as like
[249.56] boys win and girls lose. Boys lead slightly on standardized tests overall,
[254.36] particularly at the highest levels where they excel even more. But, in classrooms
[258.6] and broader assessments, girls hold their own or even outperform. Looking at
[262.68] gender gaps worldwide, things get even more complicated. Every 3 years, the
[266.68] Program for International Student Assessment tests about a half a million
[270.64] 15-year-olds from over 80 countries. It's the gold standard for measuring
[274.68] global math skills and it's got some surprises.

[278.0] In many places, girls outperform boys by surprising margins. In Jordan, for
[282.8] instance, 15-year-old girls score an average of about 15 points higher in
[286.68] math than boys. In Qatar, Bahrain, Malaysia, Thailand, girls do better as
[291.76] well, sometimes with bigger gaps than anything we'd see in the United States.
[295.32] On the other hand, Italy has the largest gender gap favoring boys.

[299.52] Overall, though, boys outperform girls on these tests. Across 80 countries
[304.28] tested, boys scored significantly higher in math in 40 countries, while girls
[309.28] scored higher in 17, with the rest really not showing that big of a
[312.84] difference. Also, that gender gap is shrinking in some countries, but that's
[316.88] not uniform, either. Some Asian countries that emphasize intense math
[320.44] training, like Singapore or South Korea, they often see higher overall scores for
[324.6] both genders with a minor tilt towards boys at the very top. Japan, it's
[329.12] historically shown one of the largest male advantages, but that's narrowing as
[333.12] well. Meanwhile, some progressive countries like those in Scandinavia,
[336.76] they show no meaningful gap.

[338.96] So, how does the US stack up globally? Well, the math gap is it gets a lot of
[343.76] attention here, but it's really not as dramatic as what you'd find in much of
[346.92] the rest of the world. But, no matter where you look, there's
[350.08] that long tail effect, especially on standardized tests. More boys just show
[355.28] up at the highest and lowest extremes.

[357.72] Okay, so why? What explains these differences? Let's start with nurture,
[362.44] some cultural explanations. One of the explanations is something
[366.12] psychologists call a stereotype threat. The idea that simply being aware of a
[370.96] negative stereotype can crush your performance. In one experiment, women
[375.16] were told a math test showed no gender differences and they performed every bit
[379.16] as well as the men. But, in a control group, women's test scores dropped
[383.24] significantly when they didn't hear that. That mental pressure and worry
[386.28] about confirming someone else's low expectations, sometimes that can become
[390.52] a self-fulfilling prophecy. Similar studies in Europe, Asia, and the Middle
[394.4] East keep finding that once a negative stereotype is triggered, performance
[398.8] suffers.

[400.08] Confidence and anxiety play a big role in all of this as well because men tend
[404.24] to be more self-confident. A recent survey found that 76% of American high
[408.68] school boys described themselves as, quote, frequent and confident in their
[413.08] math class, compared to only 58% of girls.
[416.56] And on a personal note, I was talking once to a mom who had both girls and
[420.24] boys. She said that when her boys struggled with a math problem, they
[423.8] blamed external causes like unclear teachers or even insisted that the math
[428.08] problem itself was just wrong. Her girls, on the other hand, they blamed
[432.12] themselves, asking what was wrong with them that they didn't understand that
[435.4] problem. Now, that's a sample size of just one family, but there's likely
[439.28] something to that. Worldwide, girls consistently report higher math anxiety
[444.32] even when their performance matches boys. And anxiety alone can affect test
[448.64] scores, turning self-doubt into a measurable disadvantage. Even in
[452.68] top-performing schools, we see teenage girls consistently rating themselves
[456.96] below their actual skill level, especially when compared to boys with
[460.72] similar abilities.

[462.32] Countries using collaborative teaching methods like Norway and Sweden, they
[466.04] tend to narrow gender gaps dramatically. Here, teamwork takes priority over
[470.6] competition and that seems to give girls a boost. On the flip side, countries
[475.64] that emphasize individual competition like Italy or Japan, they often see
[479.68] larger gaps favoring boys who thrive under that pressure and enjoy
[483.84] risk-taking more. And we see the dynamic in other professions as well. But,
[487.32] despite excelling in classrooms, way fewer women than men choose math-heavy
[492.56] careers. In America, women earn just 23% of engineering degrees and make up less
[497.96] than 25% of jobs in computer science fields. But, is that because of
[501.72] stereotypes in society? I mean, in America, the education system and
[506.24] nonprofit groups, they've spent a lot of time and money encouraging girls to get
[510.68] into STEM fields over the past decade and the numbers are still low. Is it
[514.72] maybe that girls just prefer other careers over math-intensive ones? That's
[518.6] certainly a possibility. In fact, ironically, some of the nations with the
[522.48] highest level of gender equality see wide math participation gaps. When they
[527.48] feel free to choose what they like, girls seem to move away from math
[531.2] careers. Hey, if you're getting anything out of this, it's a good time to
[535.88] remember to subscribe to see more of them. And also, I'm not perfect. If I
[540.4] screw up on anything here, let me know and I'll address it in a pin comment
[542.04] below. Okay, so we talked about society.

[544.84] Now, let's talk to nature, the difference that might come straight from
[548.08] biology and genetics. Let's start by looking at something called the greater
[551.36] male variability hypothesis. Now, I first discovered that idea when I was
[555.16] looking at why men dominate top-level chess and they just absolutely do.
[560.68] It's a biological explanation for the males at the tails phenomenon that we
[564.44] see in a lot of places and it was first noted by biologist Charles
[568.2] Darwin, who wrote that physical body parts of males, among animals and
[572.72] people, throughout the world, virtually always had a larger range of variation
[577.84] than women. Scientists soon discovered that the concept applied to mental
[581.44] abilities like IQ and, as we showed, math skills as well. The hypothesis part
[586.52] about it is the biological theory, which focuses on men having one X chromosome,
[591.72] while females have two. In females, one X chromosome can balance out or offset
[596.84] the effect of the other, but males don't have this backup. This means that any
[601.08] strong genes, whether beneficial or harmful, have a bigger impact on males
[605.8] leading to more men appearing at both the highest and lowest extremes of
[609.88] abilities. Okay, so now let's talk about

[611.96] spatial reasoning, another biological factor where gender differences
[615.84] continuously pop up. Spatial reasoning is your ability to mentally visualize,
[620.48] rotate, or manipulate 3D shapes in your head. It's crucial for advanced
[624.6] geometry, physics, engineering. Research consistently finds men, on average,
[629.2] outperform women on these tasks by about a half a standard deviation. In mental
[633.68] rotation tests, puzzles that require you to spin objects around in your head, men
[638.08] typically score about 35% higher. That's a huge deal in fields like architecture,
[643.36] physics, or certain types of math where strong visualization skills means faster
[648.2] problem-solving. Another potential factor is hormones. For instance, high
[652.32] levels of testosterone are linked to increased risk-taking, and in some
[656.28] studies, they show a slight boost in spatial performance, as well, but the
[659.88] jury's kind of still out on that one.

[661.4] And finally, I don't want to ignore something I mentioned before, innate
[664.52] preferences. In some very gender-equal societies like Scandinavia, women are
[669.24] strongly encouraged to get into STEM careers, and they just don't do it.
[673.12] Despite massive efforts, women in Norway and Sweden still choose STEM fields
[677.72] significantly less than men, often at rates even lower than other countries
[682.0] where they don't have that equality push.
[684.56] It's very possible that women just prefer fields with more direct social
[688.04] interaction, while men lean more towards abstract problem-solving. And even
[692.36] within STEM careers, women often choose fields like biology and medicine, which
[696.96] requires heavy math, but focuses on life sciences and people. Men cluster more in
[702.28] physics and computers with more abstract math, and it's a pattern that appears
[706.52] worldwide. Look, like every complicated thing in life, there's no easy answer,
[710.6] especially trying to determine whether something is driven by culture or
[714.44] biology.
[716.2] But I think maybe it's both.

[721.96] In the end, biology and culture both seem to play an undeniable role in
[726.72] shaping math performance. And there's another area where that same debate is
[729.92] ongoing, and it's a bit of a bizarre one, the gay voice.
[733.88] Many gay men have a distinct speaking style. I mean, not all of them, maybe
[738.08] not even most of them, but it's not just a stereotype, it's a real phenomenon
[742.64] that's been studied by linguists, sociologists, and psychologists.
[746.72] So, what's that all about? You can find the answer here.
[750.24] Hey, thanks for joining me. I love researching these and letting
[754.12] you come along with that, as well. If you enjoyed it, come back for more.