Research shows young girls are less likely to think of women as really, really smart

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Research shows young girls are less likely to think of women as ‘really, really smart’

By Nick Anderson

January 26 at 2:00 PM

Girls as young as 6 years old are less likely than boys to label people of their own gender as “really, really smart,” according to new research that raises questions about how stereotypical notions of male and female mental abilities shape the paths students take in life.

The findings, published Thursday by Science magazine, also show that 6-year-old girls tend more than boys to avoid games said to be for children who are “really, really smart.”

Researchers said their experiments suggest that gender stereotypes about brainpower take root at a pivotal point in childhood — around first grade — and can profoundly influence academic and career choices long afterward.

{Women break barriers in engineering and computer science at some top colleges}
....

Nick Anderson covers higher education for The Washington Post. He has been a writer and editor at The Post since 2005. Follow @wpnick

[dembotoz]

1. it starts early doesn't it

we all babble about the need to be globally competitive but we continually shoot ourselves in the foot

[bigtree]

2. work to do

...starts where we live.