School can be great. But as a Year 12 student, I want to understand why year after year, the number of girls pursuing maths beyond school stays stubbornly low. In 2019, only 39% of maths A -Level students were female. And for further maths? 28%. But WHY?
Turns out, a lot of girls have “maths anxiety” among their male peers, tending to downplay their abilities. They lack role models. They lack self-confidence. In a recent poll, 84% of males stated they felt confident in the subject, versus 64% of females. Still too many girls can’t – or won’t – envision themselves as mathematical pioneers of the future.
Other maths organisations target undergraduates and beyond, but I couldn’t find anything targeting girls from a younger age – which I believe is KEY to creating change.
That’s why I set up Pioneer. By having a society for students created by a student, I hope I can provide content tailored to students’ needs and interests, and that I’m in the best position to understand their struggles.
Studies show that from an early age, pupils are tested on speed and accuracy, rather than the creativity of problem solving. Again, this holds back girls who are already anxious, as the subject simply becomes a series of tests on quick fact recall. In turn, girls continue to be underrepresented in maths beyond school, missing out on some of the most essential careers of today. If girls’ voices aren’t heard, there will be countless missed opportunities to advance the field of maths.
For me, it’s all about the understanding. Understanding topics in depth, and the deeper purpose behind learning maths at school is really important to cultivate interests. Whether that be exploring applied maths, maths related-careers, what maths is like at uni or finding challenging new problems, I want girls to engage with topics not taught at school to nurture their love for problem solving.
And especially for girls who don’t know many others keen on the subject, this provides an interactive, supportive community to make the stereotypes less credible. By providing opportunities to succeed through competitions and publishing posts, this will hopefully build their confidence and motivation, as well as expose them to relatable, inspiring role models.
Lastly, a bit about me: I’m studying Maths, Further Maths, Economics and French A-Levels, with an EPQ on an area of applied maths that fascinates me: the golden ratio. I’m currently reading Terence Tao’s Solving Mathematical Problems, and I’ve definitely learnt several new problem-solving tactics! I try to work through the problems myself first, so it’s very engaging and makes me think about topics from different perspectives. This creativity is what I love about maths – discovering new, innovative ways to solve one problem!
It’s especially important to keep each other motivated during this unprecedented time. Although schools are shut, I hope Pioneer makes girls see that they can keep learning and keep being creative!