High-Ability Women and Men in Undergraduate Mathematics and Chemistry Courses

Abstract

Using samples of college students of very high ability and strong academic background, sex differences in performance and perceptions of performance in introductory chemistry and mathematics courses were studied. Considerable differences favoring men were found, and these appeared to be due primarily to differences in mathematics background. In addition, female high school role models and general attitudes about women’s mathematical ability were found to have little effect on performance. While women were not less likely than men to continue the sequences of courses studied, they were nevertheless much less likely to major in the natural sciences and engineering, preferring the life sciences instead when they chose technical majors. The evidence suggests that women’s weaker mathematics background and the poorer course performance it produced were responsible for this outcome.