Girls do not choose A-level in physics because they do not like “hard math”, said the government’s commissioner for social mobility, angering leading scientists.
Referring to a question from the Science and Technology Committee on diversity and inclusion in Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), Catherine Birbalsing said fewer girls chose physics because “physics is not something girls are inclined to to imagine. “They don’t want to do it, they don’t like it,” she said.
Birbalsing, head teacher of the Michaela Community School in Wembley, north-west London, said only 16% of her physics students were girls – 23% lower than the national average. Asked why so few girls have reached the A-level in physics, even though they outperform the boys in the GCSE, she said: “I just don’t think they like it. There are a lot of difficult maths out there that I think they prefer not to do. ”
“The study as a whole simply says it’s a natural thing,” she added. “I don’t think there’s anything external.”
Birbalsing, a French and philosophy graduate, said she was “certainly not campaigning” for more girls to pursue physics. “I don’t mind that there are only 16%,” she said. “I want you to do what they want.”
Lady Athena Donald, a professor of experimental physics and a master’s degree from Churchill College, Cambridge, said the comments were “appalling” and “quite harmful” and questioned which study referred to Birbalsing, suggesting the girls had an inherent lack of appetite. mathematics and physics.
“It’s not about campaigning for more girls to do physics, it’s about making sure girls aren’t discouraged by remarks like this,” Donald said. “We want girls to be free to do what they are good at, and boys should also be able to pursue professions such as nurses. We are not in such a society. “
Dr Jess Wade, a physicist at Imperial College London who is fighting for equality in science, said: “Honestly, I can’t believe we’re still having this conversation. It’s patronizing, infuriating, and closes the door to exciting careers in physics and engineering for generations of young women. While girls and boys currently choose Level A subjects differently, there is absolutely no evidence to show inherent differences in their abilities or preferences. “
The comments come after the girls overtook the math boys in both the A-level and the GCSE for the first time last year.
A study by the Institute of Physics emphasizes that girls in single-sex schools are almost two and a half times more likely to progress in level A physics than mixed schools, which he believes are strongly believed to play a role. in A-level selection.
His report concludes that teacher-student relationships play a significant role in level A choices and that gender stereotypes by teachers, parents and the media remain a problem, recommending that all teachers be trained in unconscious biases and gender stereotypes.
Professor Catherine Knox, a mechanical engineer at the University of Leeds and a prominent member of the Sage government committee during the pandemic, said: “It is really disappointing to see comments like this based on misconceptions about gender differences as a lack of interest even to investigate the reasons for this.
“Girls are so often told that math, physics and engineering are not for them and it is determined by society.
“In some cases, this includes the expectations and attitudes of teachers in schools, but it is also widespread in the toys and clothes that are aimed at them. Careers in science and technology are so diverse and rewarding that we need to make sure that opportunities are open to all and not closed by assumptions and stereotypes at an early age.
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