Despite centuries of being pushed to stereotypically female careers, young women are excelling in math and science.
"Females are the same if not better than males in the areas of math and sciences," said Tom Caplinger, associate chair of The University of Memphis' mathematics department.
"One reason that there seems to be more females in math and sciences is because males are encouraged to excel in sports more than academics, whereas females are encouraged to excel academically."
"There is a stereotype that women are not analytical thinkers," said Ethan Skaggs.
However, the senior civil engineering major does not personally accept that particular stereotype.
Skaggs cited discrimination as the reason for a lack of female students in more advanced levels of math.
Sue Ellen Barnes, a fellow civil engineering major, agreed.
"There were not very many females in my calculus class last semester," said Barnes. "This semester there are more but I don't know why that is," she said.
Many question why this stereotype exists.
The issue, according to Dr. Heidi Levitt, could be in how these two particular subjects are taught.
"For some girls, it's the way math is taught," said Levitt. "Some subjects, math in particular, are usually taught with male-oriented examples," she said.
Levitt said that there are studies regarding how well females do in math and sciences based on gender, race and class.
Levitt was not the only U of M instructor interested in what the latest studies show.
Dr. Nele Hemple recently read a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass. The study focused on how girls are not really encouraged to excel in the areas of math and science.
Hemple said that she had heard young girls making the statement that 'math is hard.'
"Society, as a whole, should make kids more aware of their abilities at an early age," she said. "We shouldn't channel kids into being what we want them to be."
Caplinger voiced the same opinion.
"The direction people take early on in life, is often guided by their teachers," Caplinger said, referring to the way that young boys and girls are channeled in elementary school.
Hemple stressed the importance of education being the solution to ending social problems related to the females in math and sciences issue.
"Girls who like math and science should pursue math and science," she said.
