Engineers should be good at math and design. Accountants should be good at math and allocating resources. Gender, race, and people's personalities are not important qualifications for doing jobs well.
There is a stereotype about what people in math-related careers look like and act like. The stereotype, often perpetuated in the media, is quiet, nerdy, near-sighted, white male. Of course, people who choose math-related careers come in all personality types, genders, and races and that is a good thing because many companies want a diverse workforce to spur creativity.
The problem with stereotyping (for any field or career) is that many teenagers who don’t fit the stereotype of the accountant, engineer, or mathematicians don’t seek out math opportunities. This is a loss for the individual student and for math-related fields. There is a concerted effort to by the government, industries and Mathnasium to encourage girls and minorities to seek out opportunities in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math. Unfortunately, cultural shifts are slow and laborious. Everyone must do their part to provide math opportunities to all types of people. You never know what the next Gauss, Katherine G. Johnson, or Einstein will look like. She could be in your living room right now!
Mathnasium of Littleton is owned by a woman. Our director is a woman. Many of our wonderful instructors are women. Some of us are also very good authors, artists and musicians and many of us are quite social, too! If you want to start breaking down stereotypes of what mathematicians look like and act we are a great place to start!
Read these articles for more information about math opportunities and gender.
· Mathnasium of Littleton Encourages Girls and Young Women to Pursue STEM Opportunities
· Mathematician Spotlight: Katherine G. Johnson
· Something to Consider if your Elementary Age Daughter Has a Female Teacher
· 6 Ways for Accelerated and Advanced Math Students to Get Excited about Math Again
· Math Skills to Learn from a 7-Year-Old
· Instructor Abby Has Some Tough Choices Ahead
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