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THE GENDER-CONFIDENCE
GAP
Shortchanging
Girls, Shortchanging America
A
nationwide poll of students ages 9-15, Shortchanging Girls,
Shortchanging America (1991) examines the impact of gender
on self-esteem, career aspirations, educational experiences,
and interest in math and science. The study found that as
girls reach adolescence, they experience a significantly greater
drop in self-esteem than boys experience. The poll also confirms
a growing body of research that indicates girls are systematically,
if unintentionally, discouraged from a wide range of academic
pursuits--particularly in math and science. This gap in self-esteem
and drop in girls' interest in math and science have devastating
consequences for the future of girls and the future of the
nation.
| What
We Know About the Confidence Gap |
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Girls
are less confident than boys in every age category.
See Graph A.
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As
adolescent girls and boys get older, their confidence
in their abilities reflects a growing gender gap.
The 10 percentage point difference in confidence
between elementary girls and boys becomes a 19-point
difference between high-school girls and boys.
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49
percent of elementary school girls take pride in
their school work; this number plummets to only
17 percent in high school.
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Almost
twice as many boys as girls refer to their talents
as what they like most about themselves; girls are
nearly twice as likely as boys to mention a physical
characteristic as the thing they like most about
themselves.
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Girls
who like math are more confident about their appearance
and worry less about others liking them.
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81
percent of elementary school girls like math; this
number drops to 61 percent for high school girls.
See Graph B.
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Girls
who like math and science are more likely to aspire
to careers as professionals, and hold onto their
career dreams more passionately.
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The
number of girls who like science drops from 75 percent
in elementary school to 63 percent in high school.
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