研究人員發現，全世界來說，男孩的學術優勢往往是科學或數學，而女孩的優勢在於閱讀。根據密蘇里大學心理科學教授David Geary的說法，在科學或數學方面具有個人優勢的學生更有可能進入STEM領域，而閱讀比較突出的學生更有可能進入非STEM領域。
即使女孩們的科學能力等於或優於男孩，總體上在閱讀理解方面可能更好，使得她們更擅長非STEM科目；因此，這些女孩傾向於選擇非STEM領域的職業。在性別平等程度較高的國家，婦女受到積極鼓勵加入STEM領域；然而，因為在更自由和富裕的國家，個人偏好的表達更為強烈，結果STEM領域卻失去了更多女孩的青睞。最終造成在較富裕及性別平等的國家，個人學術優勢和興趣上的的性別差異變得更大，對大學和職業選擇的影響也比較保守和較不富裕的國家更強，造成性別平等悖論。」Geary說。
原文標題：In countries with higher gender equality, women are less likely to get STEM degrees
As societies become wealthier and more gender equal, women are less likely to obtain degrees in STEM, according to new research. The researchers call this a “gender-equality paradox.”
The researchers found that, throughout the world, boys’ academic strengths tend to be in science or mathematics, while girls’ strengths are in reading. Students who have personal strengths in science or math are more likely to enter STEM fields, whereas students with reading as a personal strength are more likely to enter non-STEM fields, according to David Geary, professor of psychological sciences in the University of Missouri’s College of Arts and Science.
“Girls, even when their abilities in science equaled or excelled that of boys, often were likely to be better overall in reading comprehension, which relates to higher ability in non-STEM subjects. As a result, these girls tended to seek out other professions unrelated to STEM fields,” he says.
“In countries with greater gender equality, women are actively encouraged to participate in STEM; yet, they lose more girls because of personal academic strengths,” Geary says. “In more liberal and wealthy countries, personal preferences are more strongly expressed. One consequence is that sex differences in academic strengths and interests become larger and have a stronger influence college and career choices than in more conservative and less wealthy countries, creating the gender-equality paradox.”
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