“It’s girls’ math and science experience that’s holding them back.” How to promote mathematics for women

It’s… a matter of numbers, but not only that. In France today, at age 17 (the age to enter the final year), one in two girls is no longer studying mathematics, compared to one in four boys, according to a recent report published in June by the Academy of Sciences. In normale sup, although they are almost as numerous as boys in literature, they are a minority (19%) in science fields, and sometimes completely absent (0%) in some fields, such as maths/physics/computer science. . A trend that is growing and alert, at a time when the future is driven more than ever by scientific innovation.

Can human history be written without them? This is the question being asked by famous mathematicians, researchers and engineers who are sounding the alarm everywhere. In fact, what keeps girls out of math, as studies remind us, is not their level, equal to, or often even better than, that of boys. What could teachers and parents, at school or at home, do to change the situation? We asked five women who fully and brilliantly embraced careers in science for their thoughts. Before the start of the academic year, we present their advice and suggestions.

Sylvie Benzon, mathematician, director of the Henri-Poincaré Institute “Increasing the awareness of teachers”.

“The training starts early, from the first grade. We should inform all school teachers about this. Teach them to reverse stereotype-reinforcing practices, to better regulate classroom speech, and to combat the unconscious biases we all have. One idea would also be to reinforce their initial training with ongoing scientific training; often they have a more literary background. This will help them appreciate these topics better and communicate them better. I work alongside dynamic teachers who multiply initiatives (such as creating math clubs) in their personal time and without financial resources. We could generalize and support these projects. Co-curricular activities play a big role with girls and also disadvantaged students. “Playing math” at recess changes everything. we have fun, it creates imitation. Parents should also relax. If we have difficulties in the fourth grade, surely there is a way to overcome them. Math consists only of passing levels, at all levels. Many mathematicians claim to be slow. Doing math means learning to reason well, not fast.”

Clémence Perronnet, sociology researcher.
“Set no-interference times”

“This situation is not their fault and it is not a matter of level. It’s the girls’ math and science background that’s holding them back. They are not treated equally in the classroom for equal performance. They are not the ones we question when we need to create. When they get a good grade, we see it not as a manifestation of brilliance, but as a result of effort. You have to catch these unconscious reactions… Another important reason that keeps them away from mathematics is the sexist comments they are constantly subjected to in science classes by their classmates. We may decide to no longer tolerate these comments. Increase the level of alertness. And set specific times (two hours a week or half a day) where they will be with each other, in a same-sex group, so that they can work in a more relaxed atmosphere. This collective solidarity would emerge. A way to tell yourself. “I’m not alone.” And. “Together we will achieve great success.”

Clemence Perrone is a co-author Matheus: Girls, the future of mathCNRS Éditions, February 2024.

Dominique Senequie, President of Ardian.
“No more support at home”

“Students spend only 15% of their time at school in a year. Teachers cannot do everything. From elementary school onwards, we should not hesitate to follow mathematics at home with little girls, or even, if we do not succeed, to give them remedial lessons; Supporting them means showing that their success in this topic is important. When I was little, my grandmother, a math teacher, took care of me during the summer holidays. He gave me problems in the form of games to solve on his terrace and I loved it. Introducing mathematics in this playful way, from childhood, at school and at home, helps to prevent subject hostility, and to establish a spirit of logic and reason. I would also recommend taking advantage of the holidays to get a little hands on. Because in this way the girls will approach their year with more confidence, and this is very important. Math lessons should be times when they will gain self-esteem.”

Dominique Senequier is a member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences. She joined the first class of the École Polytechnique, which was open to girls in 1972.

Virginie Erlacher, professor and researcher
École des Ponts at ParisTech. “A more fun approach”

“National education started its profession, which I myself discovered only late in high school, in high school. So we can explain how mathematics “builds” ChatGPT, can stimulate drug molecules to evaluate their effectiveness, or even predict crowd movements or even “the future”. But it should happen much earlier in school, starting in junior high. This is the age when we start to plan in advance, imagine what we would like to do next, “crystallize” on the profession. Quite quickly, we can also organize mini-projects and challenges in the classroom that will ask students to use mathematical concepts. We could create educational support, an online platform dedicated to teachers. Offer more fun activity books with colors, steps, stickers. When I was little, my father, a researcher, introduced mathematics to me in the form of puzzles, and I loved it. This greatly contributed to my interest in this subject.’

Virginie Erlacher has been awarded the 2023 Irène Joliot-Curie Prize for Young Female Scientist.

Amel Kefif, Executive Director of Elles Bougent Association.
“Rules of Spark”

Our ‘They Move to Primary’ program has been approved by the National Board of Education. The idea of ​​the half-day is to present the CE or CM students with a deck of scientific career cards, each represented by a man and a woman. At the end of the morning, the children understood that there are neither men nor women, but just scientific work. We have over 10,000 godmothers, engineers, scientists, mathematicians… who go to college or higher education courses to talk about their careers, their profession, automotive, aerospace, defense… We defile the resources you need : To achieve this, they have an average of 19 in math. In total, we organize more than 700 awareness events a year in France with 40,000 young women.”

The Elles Bougent Association supports a diversity of companies in the industrial and technological sectors.