The Prime Minister appoints Miss France 2024 Eve Gillies as an ‘ambassador’ to encourage girls to take up science and mathematics.
On December 5, the announcement came as a blow. The mathematics level of 15-year-old French students had dropped dramatically. According to the OECD’s much-anticipated Pisa report (1), which states that although France is the 7th largest economic power in the world, it ranks only 26th in mathematics and scientific culture. Enough to challenge then Education Minister Gabriel Atal. After these results, he announced a series of measures: the “Singapore method”, the recruitment of new teachers, the expected baccalaureate test “dedicated to mathematics and scientific culture”, the creation of level groups, new programs for primary classes…
Since then, Gabrielle Atal has become prime minister, and on March 14, World Mathematics Day, she joined Miss France 2024, Eve Gilles, whom she called an “ambassador” to encourage girls to study mathematics and become majors. career in this field.
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In a video posted on Instagram this Thursday, March 14, the new French beauty queen, Gabrielle Atal, claims that she wants to “keep moving forward for mathematics” and has committed to ensuring “a share of girls doing mathematics.” or “absolute priority”. “There are still too many girls who censor themselves, who tell themselves, ‘Maths is not for me.’ We have to change that,” the head of the government insists, facing the camera. Before “handing over” his phone to Ève Gilles.
Miss France, a second-year MIASHS (Mathematics and Computer Science for Applied Human and Social Sciences) student, confirms the “lack of equality” in the science and math fields. However, they are being trained for “future professions such as artificial intelligence, engineering, statistics, astronomy, research.” “I noticed during my promotion at university that there are very few women (…) Very few of us choose math and science, so let’s get more involved,” encourages the 20-year-old young woman.
In a study by the Institute for Public Policy (IPP) released in January, girls’ math dropout is seen as early as first grade. A phenomenon that “questions the weight of gender stereotypes that weigh on students” and “suggests that they are early and very widespread in society.”
(1) Pisa: International Student Achievement Monitoring Program.
Source: Le Figaro
