There is a whole tangle of reasons why the gender gap in Stem exists. One is a pipeline issue – fewer girls than boys choose to study Stem subjects at secondary school and university. Interventions internationally mean the numbers of girls in Stem subjects are creeping up very slowly, but the gap remains surprisingly resistant nonetheless. In Turkey, for instance, the gender gap is greater (boys outperform girls by 22.6 points) while in Iceland the gender difference is reversed: girls outperform boys by 14.5 points. They state that if Turkey were characterised by the same gender equality seen in Sweden, the gender gap in maths would be eliminated.

Source: The Guardian March 08, 2018 08:55 UTC