(CNN) Research has shown that boys and girls' math abilities are about the same at a young age, yet the math field is dominated by men. The authors looked at reading and math performance data from 300,000 15-year-old students in 64 countries. When they compared the genders' performances, they found a "very large" difference between boys and girls' verbal scores. Girls, who demonstrated higher marks in reading than boys, are aware that they hold "comparative advantage" when making key decisions about their education and career prospects, the study said. That "can explain up to 80% of the gender gap in intentions to pursue math-studies and career," the authors wrote.

Source: CNN July 16, 2019 20:36 UTC