The Gender Gap Is Also a Confidence Gap
Bias against female students and researchers could be even worse than feared, and harder to address.
Now more likely to get a college degree?
Photographer: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFPDisparate outcomes between men and women remain one of the most contentious issues in American life. Now there is new research suggesting that the inequalities could be even more persistent than feared — in part because many men seem to have more confidence than women.
The first new study focuses on performance in high school, and the startling result is this: Girls with more exposure to high-achieving boys (as proxied by parental education) have a smaller chance of receiving a bachelor’s degree. Furthermore, they do worse in math and science, are less likely to join the labor force, and more likely to have more children, which in turn may limit their later career prospects.